So, I'll be preaching in English today.<\/p>\n
Uh, if you would like to hear the sermon<\/p>\n
in Thai, translated into Thai. Uh, there<\/p>\n
are headsets with headphones and a unit<\/p>\n
there that you can listen uh into the<\/p>\n
translation. So, we want to say welcome<\/p>\n
to you. Uh, my name is Tim uh Mills. I'm<\/p>\n
one of the elders here at Grey City<\/p>\n
Bangkok. We have a lot of visitors<\/p>\n
tonight. Welcome to you all. We're so<\/p>\n
glad you're here. And uh kids, first of<\/p>\n
all, you probably don't want to listen<\/p>\n
to the whole sermon because you got your<\/p>\n
own thing happening. So you may be<\/p>\n
released. Thank you for that. All right.<\/p>\n
Thank you. Uh so children, they do have<\/p>\n
their own time uh of learning and<\/p>\n
worship together. So they may leave for<\/p>\n
that now. So if you're visiting, your<\/p>\n
children are with you, uh you can go see<\/p>\n
where they are going to do that right<\/p>\n
next uh to us. So we're glad you're<\/p>\n
here. If you're visiting, uh Ashan<\/p>\n
mentioned earlier, you know, the name of<\/p>\n
our of our church, Grace City Bangkok.<\/p>\n
It's really kind of pointed about what<\/p>\n
we hold dear, what we cling to, the<\/p>\n
grace of God, uh in in every aspect of<\/p>\n
our lives. And we also want to live out<\/p>\n
that grace and that love of the Lord<\/p>\n
Jesus Christ in this city that we call<\/p>\n
home, Bangkok. And many of you, those of<\/p>\n
you visiting, you live in cities as<\/p>\n
well. We hope that you're encouraged<\/p>\n
tonight as you return uh to your home<\/p>\n
after your travels, after your time here<\/p>\n
in Thailand, uh to live out the gospel<\/p>\n
in your own community. Tonight uh we're<\/p>\n
going to be or today we're going to be<\/p>\n
continuing a series and I'll share more<\/p>\n
about that in just a moment. But I want<\/p>\n
to ask you uh talk about the word<\/p>\n
mention the word say the word<\/p>\n
influencer.<\/p>\n
When I say influencer<\/p>\n
what does that bring up uh in your mind?<\/p>\n
What does that make you think of<\/p>\n
influencer? Uh we've actually started a<\/p>\n
series last week if you were here. Uh we<\/p>\n
started that series and the the theme is<\/p>\n
around the idea of influence<\/p>\n
influencers.<\/p>\n
Uh now this term uh it's a role that has<\/p>\n
emerged in recent years. Uh if you're on<\/p>\n
social media at all, you've seen it,<\/p>\n
you've heard it, you've experienced.<\/p>\n
This has emerged from the social media<\/p>\n
realm. This idea of someone that<\/p>\n
influences<\/p>\n
the way the ways that other people live<\/p>\n
their lives, right? Influencers.<\/p>\n
Buy this product. Try this exercise<\/p>\n
plan. listen to this music, take this<\/p>\n
kind of vacation to this destination and<\/p>\n
so on. Right? So, you've experienced<\/p>\n
that. Perhaps some of you are<\/p>\n
influencers here tonight. Uh actually, I<\/p>\n
know one that's here tonight. So, uh but<\/p>\n
influencers project a certain way of<\/p>\n
living. A certain way of living. And<\/p>\n
others are often the idea is that others<\/p>\n
are often attracted to the possibilities<\/p>\n
of having the same experience<\/p>\n
or living the same kind of life as an<\/p>\n
influencer. Okay. So in a similar way,<\/p>\n
a Christian, a follower of Jesus Christ<\/p>\n
is a person that has been influenced<\/p>\n
how? By the good news of who Jesus is.<\/p>\n
influenced by Jesus himself, captivated<\/p>\n
by the love and grace of God. And in<\/p>\n
turn, we hope and pray<\/p>\n
uh that our lives will will be<\/p>\n
characterized by a love and a care uh<\/p>\n
for those around us. Okay? So, we've<\/p>\n
been influenced by God's great love and<\/p>\n
forgiveness of sin. We've sung about<\/p>\n
we've we've uh looked at tonight<\/p>\n
already. And it radically transforms us.<\/p>\n
It changes the way we see the world.<\/p>\n
It defines not just how we live, but why<\/p>\n
we live, what we live for.<\/p>\n
To love the Lord our God with all of our<\/p>\n
heart, our soul, mind, strength, and to<\/p>\n
love our neighbors as we love ourselves.<\/p>\n
This is the core teaching of the<\/p>\n
Christian faith. the core ethic of how<\/p>\n
the Christian is to live.<\/p>\n
It's what Jesus taught.<\/p>\n
It's how Jesus lived.<\/p>\n
So the desire of the Christian that<\/p>\n
follows Jesus is to influence<\/p>\n
through love, to care for, to serve this<\/p>\n
hurting world in and through the power<\/p>\n
and the grace of Jesus Christ. The<\/p>\n
Christian believes that the gospel<\/p>\n
changes everything.<\/p>\n
changes everything<\/p>\n
and that it influence every aspect of<\/p>\n
our lives. So the Christian is an<\/p>\n
influencer marked by the love of Jesus.<\/p>\n
Now this series will be a part of the<\/p>\n
teaching here at Grace City Bangkok for<\/p>\n
the next two years. Not every Sunday,<\/p>\n
but we have blocks of this sermon series<\/p>\n
throughout the next two years. So come<\/p>\n
on back and be a part of it. uh and it's<\/p>\n
going to be looking at kind of three<\/p>\n
parts.<\/p>\n
So, these three parts uh were touched on<\/p>\n
last week and here they are. We're going<\/p>\n
to be looking at uh proclaimers of the<\/p>\n
gospel, people that are living out uh<\/p>\n
the gospel of Jesus and understanding<\/p>\n
that as we become Christians, as we come<\/p>\n
to faith, we too become people that are<\/p>\n
sharing that story, living out that<\/p>\n
story, proclaimers of the gospel of<\/p>\n
Jesus. In the scriptures, Jesus says,<\/p>\n
\"Go forth, make disciples of all<\/p>\n
nations.\" Some of you are working for<\/p>\n
student ministries. Some of you are<\/p>\n
working for other ministries, but all<\/p>\n
Christians are called to be making<\/p>\n
disciples. What do disciplemakers do?<\/p>\n
They encourage people in their faith.<\/p>\n
They point to Jesus and help encourage<\/p>\n
and nurture the faith of others. So, a<\/p>\n
Christian is a disciplemaker of Jesus.<\/p>\n
We're also going to be looking in the<\/p>\n
scriptures of how God used people to<\/p>\n
build his church and also leaders of uh<\/p>\n
leaders in the gospel. So leaders of<\/p>\n
Jesus charact you know lead people that<\/p>\n
are serving and caring for their<\/p>\n
community that God has called to be<\/p>\n
leaders. We're going to look at one of<\/p>\n
those today. We'll look at lives of<\/p>\n
historical figures in the scriptures and<\/p>\n
we'll think about how has God called us.<\/p>\n
We'll talk about that some more in just<\/p>\n
a moment. Now, as we look at the Bible,<\/p>\n
uh we look at the word of God. You know,<\/p>\n
the Bible is an honest book. It's<\/p>\n
honest. It's true. We believe it's God's<\/p>\n
truth, but it's honest. And one of the<\/p>\n
things that we see is that we we look at<\/p>\n
lives of historical figures in the<\/p>\n
scriptures, and we see their successes,<\/p>\n
but we see their failures. We see the<\/p>\n
ways that they've failed before God and<\/p>\n
before others. We see people that had<\/p>\n
great skill abilities that God gave<\/p>\n
them. But we also see people that lacked<\/p>\n
ability. We'll see that today even in<\/p>\n
their own opinion of themselves.<\/p>\n
We'll see people that had great<\/p>\n
obedience,<\/p>\n
but we'll see people that were stubborn,<\/p>\n
that were rebellious even towards God.<\/p>\n
At times, we'll see people exhibiting<\/p>\n
good works. The Bible says God prepares<\/p>\n
us to do good works in him. So, we'll<\/p>\n
see people living lives that have good<\/p>\n
things happening in them, but we'll also<\/p>\n
see sin and brokenness in the Bible,<\/p>\n
characters in the Bible, people in the<\/p>\n
Bible, historical figures. The Bible is<\/p>\n
an honest book. So, we'll look at the<\/p>\n
lives of these leaders that God called.<\/p>\n
We're going to talk about that today.<\/p>\n
and lives that God used to bring about<\/p>\n
his will and his unfolding plan that<\/p>\n
continues to this moment<\/p>\n
for this world that he has created. And<\/p>\n
in all of it, in all of it, we'll see<\/p>\n
how God brought rescue,<\/p>\n
salvation, redemption,<\/p>\n
and how he is bringing eternal<\/p>\n
restoration<\/p>\n
today through Jesus. It's coming.<\/p>\n
The Bible says that Jesus is the author<\/p>\n
and the perfector of our faith.<\/p>\n
So, we'll be looking to him in the<\/p>\n
scriptures, Old Testament, New Testament<\/p>\n
through this series. So, in the first<\/p>\n
series of this year, uh we're actually<\/p>\n
studying the life of Moses. Last week,<\/p>\n
Aan Nati started that. You can go back<\/p>\n
and listen to that if you were not here.<\/p>\n
Our sermons are online. Uh perhaps<\/p>\n
you're even listening to this one<\/p>\n
online. You can go back and find them,<\/p>\n
follow along in this series. I'm going<\/p>\n
to go over a little bit of what Ajanati<\/p>\n
touched on last week to kind of bring us<\/p>\n
up again, kind of remind us of of what<\/p>\n
we're looking at in the life of Moses<\/p>\n
and what God did in the life of Moses.<\/p>\n
Moses was called by God. God called<\/p>\n
Moses. We're going to read that as it<\/p>\n
happened today. God worked through<\/p>\n
Moses's life to accomplish God's<\/p>\n
sovereign work and will.<\/p>\n
Here's some of what Ajanati shared last<\/p>\n
week. God used Moses to lead Israel out<\/p>\n
of Egypt, out of slavery, out of<\/p>\n
captivity, out of Egypt at the burning<\/p>\n
bush. That's what we're going to look at<\/p>\n
today. God called calls out and he<\/p>\n
called Moses to confront Pharaoh to a<\/p>\n
very specific purpose.<\/p>\n
Moses became an instrument through whom<\/p>\n
God displayed his power through the 10<\/p>\n
plagues.<\/p>\n
Moses led God's people through the Red<\/p>\n
Sea and received the Ten Commandments,<\/p>\n
the law of God. God used Moses to<\/p>\n
establish worship practices. He taught<\/p>\n
the people, showed the people through<\/p>\n
Moses. He introduced the priesthood<\/p>\n
which would mediate between God and the<\/p>\n
people of Israel at that time in<\/p>\n
history.<\/p>\n
Moses established a leadership structure<\/p>\n
by appointing a number of leaders, 70 in<\/p>\n
fact, 70 leaders. And when Israel<\/p>\n
sinned, we read about Israel, the people<\/p>\n
sinning before God, Moses interceded for<\/p>\n
the people, before God. And God used<\/p>\n
Moses and inspired him to author to<\/p>\n
write the first five books of the<\/p>\n
scriptures. In fact, what we read<\/p>\n
tonight, authored by Moses through the<\/p>\n
inspiration of God. So, in our text, if<\/p>\n
you want to flip to our text or turn to<\/p>\n
it or open it uh in your app, we're<\/p>\n
going to be looking at Exodus 3, all of<\/p>\n
it, and Exodus 4. Um, we're going to<\/p>\n
read all of that. It's long, but we're<\/p>\n
going to touch on a little bit of it<\/p>\n
tonight. Okay, let me pray for us before<\/p>\n
we begin. And here's what we're going to<\/p>\n
look on and focus on in this text. We're<\/p>\n
going to look at God's call. Talk about<\/p>\n
God's call. We're going to look at God's<\/p>\n
revelation of himself<\/p>\n
and God's faithfulness to accomplish his<\/p>\n
will. Let me pray for us.<\/p>\n
Lord, we ask that you would open our<\/p>\n
minds and our hearts to your Bible, to<\/p>\n
the your scriptures, the Bible today.<\/p>\n
Help us to see what you would have us to<\/p>\n
see. Help us to understand<\/p>\n
what you would have us to understand.<\/p>\n
You have created us. You have given us<\/p>\n
our minds. You have given us the un our<\/p>\n
ability to understand. So we ask that<\/p>\n
you would do that. Teach us. Help us<\/p>\n
understand from the scriptures. And help<\/p>\n
us also not just understand, but help us<\/p>\n
to consider what we hear.<\/p>\n
help us really think about what we hear<\/p>\n
and to consider it.<\/p>\n
Some of us call ourselves Christians,<\/p>\n
but maybe there's something tonight that<\/p>\n
we we see aresh that you're teaching us.<\/p>\n
And some of us maybe if we're honest, we<\/p>\n
would say, \"I don't know much about this<\/p>\n
Christian faith. I don't I don't think I<\/p>\n
believe it or maybe I believe parts of<\/p>\n
it, but I have questions.\" So God, we<\/p>\n
ask you to answer those questions. Those<\/p>\n
are real questions and you honor real<\/p>\n
questions. So we ask that do that<\/p>\n
tonight in us. We ask and pray and lead<\/p>\n
us in you. We ask in this in your holy<\/p>\n
name, Lord Jesus. Amen.<\/p>\n
Rihanna is going to read to us. Now<\/p>\n
again, long passage, but it's going to<\/p>\n
help us understand what happened. And<\/p>\n
we're going to look at a few parts of<\/p>\n
this passage.<\/p>\n
This is the word of God.<\/p>\n
>> Exodus chapter 3.<\/p>\n
Now Moses was keeping the flock of his<\/p>\n
father-in-law Jethro, the priest of<\/p>\n
Midian. And he led his flock to the west<\/p>\n
side of the wilderness, and came to<\/p>\n
Horeb, the mountain of God. And the<\/p>\n
angel of the Lord appeared to him in a<\/p>\n
flame of fire out of the midst of a<\/p>\n
bush. He looked, and behold, the bush<\/p>\n
was burning, yet it was not consumed.<\/p>\n
And Moses said, \"I will turn aside to<\/p>\n
see this great sight, why the bush is<\/p>\n
not burned.\" When the Lord saw that he<\/p>\n
turned aside to see, God called to him<\/p>\n
out of the bush, \"Moses, Moses.\" And he<\/p>\n
said, \"Here I am.\" Then he said, \"Do not<\/p>\n
come near. Take your sandals off your<\/p>\n
feet, for the place on which you are<\/p>\n
standing is holy ground.\" And he said,<\/p>\n
\"I am the God of your father, the God of<\/p>\n
Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God<\/p>\n
of Jacob.\" And Moses hid his face, for<\/p>\n
he was afraid to look at God. Then the<\/p>\n
Lord said, \"I have surely seen the<\/p>\n
affliction of my people who are in Egypt<\/p>\n
and have heard their cry because of<\/p>\n
their taskmasters.<\/p>\n
I know their sufferings, and I have come<\/p>\n
down to deliver them out of the hand of<\/p>\n
the Egyptians, and to bring them up out<\/p>\n
of that land to a good and broad land, a<\/p>\n
land flowing with milk and honey, to the<\/p>\n
place of the Canaanites, the Hittites,<\/p>\n
the Amorites, the Perizzites, the<\/p>\n
Hivites, and the Jebusites.<\/p>\n
And now, behold, the cry of the people<\/p>\n
of Israel has come to me, and I have<\/p>\n
also seen the oppression with which the<\/p>\n
Egyptians oppressed them. Come, I will<\/p>\n
send you to Pharaoh, so that you may<\/p>\n
bring my people, the children of Israel,<\/p>\n
out of Egypt. But Moses said to God,<\/p>\n
\"Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh<\/p>\n
and bring the children of Israel, out of<\/p>\n
Egypt?\"<\/p>\n
He said, \"But I will be with you, and<\/p>\n
this shall be the sign for you. But I<\/p>\n
have sent you when you have brought the<\/p>\n
people out of Egypt, you shall serve God<\/p>\n
on this mountain.\" Then Moses said to<\/p>\n
God, \"If I come to the people of Israel<\/p>\n
and say to them, the God of your fathers<\/p>\n
has sent me to you, and they ask me,<\/p>\n
\"What is his name? What shall I say to<\/p>\n
them?\" God said to Moses, \"I am who I<\/p>\n
am.\" And he said, \"Say this to the<\/p>\n
people of Israel. I am has sent me to<\/p>\n
you.\" God also said to Moses, \"Say this<\/p>\n
to the people of Israel. The Lord, the<\/p>\n
God of your fathers, the God of Abraham,<\/p>\n
the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob,<\/p>\n
has sent me to you. This is my name<\/p>\n
forever, and thus I am to be remembered<\/p>\n
throughout all generations.\"<\/p>\n
Go and gather the elders of Israel<\/p>\n
together and say to them, \"The Lord, the<\/p>\n
of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to<\/p>\n
me, saying, I have observed you and what<\/p>\n
has been done to you in Egypt. And I<\/p>\n
promise that I will bring you up out of<\/p>\n
the affliction of Egypt, to the land of<\/p>\n
the Canaanites, the Hittites, the<\/p>\n
Amorites, the Parizzites, the Hivites,<\/p>\n
and the Jebusites, a land flowing with<\/p>\n
milk and honey. and they will listen to<\/p>\n
your voice. And you and the elders of<\/p>\n
Israel shall go to the king of Egypt and<\/p>\n
say to him, \"The Lord, the God of the<\/p>\n
Hebrews, has met with us. And now please<\/p>\n
let us go a three days journey into the<\/p>\n
wilderness that we may sacrifice to the<\/p>\n
Lord our God. But I know that the king<\/p>\n
of Egypt will not let you go unless<\/p>\n
compelled by a mighty hand. So I will<\/p>\n
stretch out my hand and strike Egypt<\/p>\n
with all the wonders that I will do in<\/p>\n
it. after that he will let you go. And I<\/p>\n
will give this people favor in the sight<\/p>\n
of the Egyptians. And when you go, you<\/p>\n
shall not go empty. But each woman shall<\/p>\n
ask of her neighbor and any woman who<\/p>\n
lives in her house for silver and gold<\/p>\n
jewelry and for clothing. You shall put<\/p>\n
them on your sons and on your daughters.<\/p>\n
So you shall plunder the Egyptians.<\/p>\n
Chapter 4. Then Moses answered, \"But<\/p>\n
behold, they will not believe me or<\/p>\n
listen to my voice, for they will say,<\/p>\n
'The Lord did not appear to you.\" The<\/p>\n
Lord said to him, \"What is that in your<\/p>\n
hand?\" He said, \"A staff.\" And he said,<\/p>\n
\"Throw it on the ground.\" So he threw it<\/p>\n
on the ground and it became a serpent.<\/p>\n
And Moses ran from it. But the Lord said<\/p>\n
to Moses, \"Put out your hand and catch<\/p>\n
it by the tail.\" So he put out his hand<\/p>\n
and caught it, and it became a staff in<\/p>\n
his hand, that they may believe that the<\/p>\n
Lord, the God of their fathers, the God<\/p>\n
of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the<\/p>\n
God of Jacob, has appeared to you.\"<\/p>\n
Again, the Lord said to him, \"Put your<\/p>\n
hand inside your cloak.\" And he put his<\/p>\n
hand inside his cloak, and when he took<\/p>\n
it out, behold, his hand was lepous like<\/p>\n
snow. Then God said, \"Put your hand back<\/p>\n
inside your cloak.\" So he put his hand<\/p>\n
back inside his cloak, and when he took<\/p>\n
it out, behold, it was restored like the<\/p>\n
rest of his flesh. If they will not<\/p>\n
believe you, God said, or listen to the<\/p>\n
first sign, they may believe the latter<\/p>\n
sign. If they will not believe even<\/p>\n
these two signs, or listen to your<\/p>\n
voice, you shall take some water from<\/p>\n
the Nile and pour it on the dry ground.<\/p>\n
And the water that you shall take from<\/p>\n
the Nile will become blood on the dry<\/p>\n
ground.<\/p>\n
But Moses said to the Lord, \"Oh my Lord,<\/p>\n
I am not eloquent either in the past or<\/p>\n
since you have spoken to your servant,<\/p>\n
but I am slow of speech and of tongue.\"<\/p>\n
Then the Lord said to him, \"Who has made<\/p>\n
man's mouth? Who makes him mute or deaf<\/p>\n
or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the<\/p>\n
Lord? Now therefore go, and I will be<\/p>\n
with your mouth and teach you what you<\/p>\n
shall speak.\" But he said, \"Oh my Lord,<\/p>\n
please send someone else.\" Then the<\/p>\n
anger of the Lord was kindled against<\/p>\n
Moses, and he said, \"Is there not Aaron,<\/p>\n
your brother, the Levite? I know that he<\/p>\n
can speak well. Behold, he is coming out<\/p>\n
to meet you, and when he sees you, he<\/p>\n
will be glad in his heart. You shall<\/p>\n
speak to him, and put the words in his<\/p>\n
mouth, and I will be with your mouth,<\/p>\n
and with his mouth, and will teach you<\/p>\n
both what to do. He shall speak for you<\/p>\n
to the people and he shall be your mouth<\/p>\n
and you shall be as God to him and take<\/p>\n
in your hand the staff with which you<\/p>\n
shall do the signs.<\/p>\n
>> This is the word of God.<\/p>\n
So this this passage opens uh and the<\/p>\n
scene we're given is this mountain.<\/p>\n
This mountain uh called Horeb actually<\/p>\n
is also referred to as Mount Si. Perhaps<\/p>\n
you're more familiar with that name,<\/p>\n
that term. Now, the name listed here,<\/p>\n
Horeb, is uh traditionally understood to<\/p>\n
mean Mount Cyani or even describes this<\/p>\n
particular region<\/p>\n
in which the mountain was located is<\/p>\n
located. So, this particular mountain<\/p>\n
becomes an important location. It's<\/p>\n
interesting. It becomes an important<\/p>\n
location as events unfold. And one theme<\/p>\n
we'll see throughout the Bible and<\/p>\n
throughout Exodus as we're studying<\/p>\n
Moses's life is that you'll see these<\/p>\n
reoccurring themes. Okay, so this<\/p>\n
location uh is interesting because as<\/p>\n
events unfold through the story book of<\/p>\n
Exodus and beyond um you know right here<\/p>\n
tonight we see how God's call to Moses<\/p>\n
happens in this location. Later in just<\/p>\n
a few chapters uh list where it's<\/p>\n
recorded uh Aaron will meet again with<\/p>\n
Moses. God's presence later will descend<\/p>\n
upon this mountain mount si when uh<\/p>\n
Israel has come out of Egypt. Kind of<\/p>\n
skipping ahead here uh and and when God<\/p>\n
gives Moses the Ten Commandments. So a<\/p>\n
lot is going to happen on this on this<\/p>\n
mountain. Some significant events will<\/p>\n
happen. And as we read the Bible, as we<\/p>\n
read through the Bible, we see this<\/p>\n
continuity. We see this unfolding of<\/p>\n
God's purposes, God's plans.<\/p>\n
God calls Moses to help lead his people.<\/p>\n
He's given some details here about what<\/p>\n
that's going to look like. lead them out<\/p>\n
of captivity in Egypt, go to before<\/p>\n
Pharaoh, and God will come again later<\/p>\n
to Moses<\/p>\n
in the future bringing his holy law to<\/p>\n
the people to lead them and to guide<\/p>\n
them. So we can look back on the story<\/p>\n
and see, but this is where this is<\/p>\n
happening, this burning bush. Now, in<\/p>\n
the in the second verse here, we see<\/p>\n
that the angel uh in the second verse,<\/p>\n
we read this. It says, \"The angel of the<\/p>\n
Lord appeared to him.\" Now, this term,<\/p>\n
this title, angel of the Lord, it's it's<\/p>\n
used in a number of instances in the Old<\/p>\n
Testament. Uh there's a passage like in<\/p>\n
in Genesis 22. Uh we read about the<\/p>\n
angel of the Lord calls out to Abraham.<\/p>\n
Um or other parts of the text uh here<\/p>\n
too make it clear that it's God speaking<\/p>\n
out to Abraham in Genesis 22. in other<\/p>\n
parts of Exodus in judges in the book of<\/p>\n
Joshua there's uh with this angel of the<\/p>\n
lord there's a di a divine identity uh<\/p>\n
and these characteristics of divinity um<\/p>\n
angel of the lord is uh is called yahweh<\/p>\n
uh speaks with authority as god forgives<\/p>\n
sins so many scholars note these<\/p>\n
instances these occurrences and even<\/p>\n
some look at these as as what are called<\/p>\n
theophanes<\/p>\n
now a theophony is an instance, an<\/p>\n
occurrence that foreshadows<\/p>\n
Christ, foreshadows Jesus and what Jesus<\/p>\n
would come to do. The pre-incarnate<\/p>\n
Christ interacting with mankind. So,<\/p>\n
it's not a stretch of the imagination to<\/p>\n
see, you know, the trinitarian aspect of<\/p>\n
God, the Godhead interacting with<\/p>\n
humanity. So at this at this point, the<\/p>\n
angel of the Lord, God coming to<\/p>\n
interact with Moses, interact with<\/p>\n
humanity when God would later take on<\/p>\n
flesh and enter into this<\/p>\n
world that he created. So at this<\/p>\n
mountain at Horeb, Mount Si, Moses is<\/p>\n
out tending, right, the flock, and he<\/p>\n
sees this bush that's a flame. It's it's<\/p>\n
burning. If we can, you know, imagine<\/p>\n
that<\/p>\n
it would it would strike up our<\/p>\n
curiosity, right? Like first of all, why<\/p>\n
is it on fire? And why isn't the fire<\/p>\n
destroying this bush? It's not consumed.<\/p>\n
How, you know, his curiosity<\/p>\n
as it would for us? He's drawn to it. He<\/p>\n
goes over to it. There's this mystery,<\/p>\n
this amazing event is unfolding here.<\/p>\n
And as he approaches this bush, the text<\/p>\n
says that God makes himself known. God<\/p>\n
calls out to Moses<\/p>\n
out of this out of this, you know, God's<\/p>\n
presence descending in this place. And<\/p>\n
God calls out to Moses with this message<\/p>\n
of what God is is going to do in and<\/p>\n
through him. It's this miraculous event.<\/p>\n
It's this amazing event.<\/p>\n
God revealing the plan that he has for<\/p>\n
Moses's life. In verse 5, Moses is told,<\/p>\n
warned to not come near,<\/p>\n
to remove his sandals. It's interesting.<\/p>\n
Remove his sandals.<\/p>\n
Why? Well, we're told this place, this<\/p>\n
ordinary mountain, this ordinary part of<\/p>\n
this mountain suddenly<\/p>\n
is sacred.<\/p>\n
It's become holy.<\/p>\n
Not in and of itself. Not that soil, not<\/p>\n
those rocks, not that bush,<\/p>\n
but because of the presence of God.<\/p>\n
Moses is in the presence of God, the<\/p>\n
holy God. And God says, \"Stop. You<\/p>\n
cannot come closer. Take off your<\/p>\n
sandals.\" And Moses even hides from<\/p>\n
this, right? He's he's aware of this and<\/p>\n
he hides and it says, \"You cannot look<\/p>\n
upon God. God is holy and God is the one<\/p>\n
who makes and declares people and places<\/p>\n
holy. God's presence here. So here God<\/p>\n
is called out to Moses and as we'll<\/p>\n
continue to see through what we read<\/p>\n
tonight and through Moses's story, we'll<\/p>\n
see where this leads. We'll see where<\/p>\n
this leads. Now before we move on,<\/p>\n
uh I want to I want to draw our<\/p>\n
attention to this idea of God's call.<\/p>\n
So God calls out to Moses, but he's also<\/p>\n
calling to Moses. He's telling Moses<\/p>\n
what he will do. There's a a call. So in<\/p>\n
in our faith in Christianity, we talk<\/p>\n
about this. God has called me or been<\/p>\n
called by God. When when someone turns<\/p>\n
to faith in Jesus Christ, there has been<\/p>\n
a call on your life like God has has<\/p>\n
called out to you through his word,<\/p>\n
through his spirit. God has called into<\/p>\n
you, called into your heart. So in the<\/p>\n
Christian faith, we speak of this this<\/p>\n
inward call, this internal call that we<\/p>\n
sense God working in our hearts. And and<\/p>\n
some of you may have like grown up in a<\/p>\n
in a Christian home and you think I<\/p>\n
don't I can't really remember a time<\/p>\n
where I didn't believe these things. And<\/p>\n
so yeah, God calling into your speaking<\/p>\n
into your life through your family,<\/p>\n
through your community. Some of you<\/p>\n
later in life, you come to faith. You're<\/p>\n
like, I I didn't believe now I believe.<\/p>\n
God worked in my heart. There's this<\/p>\n
inward understanding, this call. And we<\/p>\n
also talk about this outward call. So<\/p>\n
immer call being call of Jesus you know<\/p>\n
found in the gospel it's found in the<\/p>\n
gospel and then us being found in the<\/p>\n
gospel<\/p>\n
found by the gospel but then and that's<\/p>\n
Jesus right saying come and follow me we<\/p>\n
see that in the New Testament Jesus<\/p>\n
saying two people specifically come<\/p>\n
leave that leave what you're doing leave<\/p>\n
what you believe and follow me believe<\/p>\n
in me I have come to rescue you to lead<\/p>\n
you so there's that call new life in and<\/p>\n
through Jesus. And then the outward call<\/p>\n
we've touched on uh briefly earlier um<\/p>\n
this outward call is like uh to love the<\/p>\n
Lord your God, right? Like so how you<\/p>\n
can think of it as the inworking and the<\/p>\n
outworking like this is what we believe<\/p>\n
and then what does that mean? How do we<\/p>\n
live? And we talked about that at the<\/p>\n
beginning tonight. This outward call is<\/p>\n
to love the Lord your God. This is found<\/p>\n
in the scriptures. Love the Lord your<\/p>\n
God with with everything, right? our<\/p>\n
heart, soul, mind, strength, everything,<\/p>\n
all that we are. And then God works<\/p>\n
through us to love others changes,<\/p>\n
right? The radical ethic of the<\/p>\n
Christian faith. Love those who are<\/p>\n
lovable. Yes. But love those who are<\/p>\n
difficult difficult to love. Yes. Bible<\/p>\n
even saying love your enemies. How?<\/p>\n
Through the power and the work of Jesus<\/p>\n
in our hearts to change our hearts. So<\/p>\n
yes, you can think of this as an<\/p>\n
inworking um this outward and then an<\/p>\n
outworking of this [snorts] internal<\/p>\n
understanding and our faith in Jesus.<\/p>\n
This outward call is to serve God<\/p>\n
faithfully, right? God gives us, we even<\/p>\n
maybe have talked about vocation,<\/p>\n
calling vocos about how we're to live,<\/p>\n
where we're to serve. And um there's an<\/p>\n
obedience to that in every area of our<\/p>\n
life with our families, uh to our church<\/p>\n
community, with our neighbors, in our<\/p>\n
professions, in our schools, uh wherever<\/p>\n
we find ourselves in our neighborhoods,<\/p>\n
in our apartments, we are to live out<\/p>\n
this this inward call with an outward<\/p>\n
call, outward um living. So we talk<\/p>\n
about this a lot at Grace City. This is,<\/p>\n
you know, we're we're an urban church.<\/p>\n
We want to love this city. We talk about<\/p>\n
this a lot. So, some of you may be<\/p>\n
saying, \"Yes, yes, we've heard this<\/p>\n
before and we want to keep talking about<\/p>\n
it.\" So, here with Moses's call, we see<\/p>\n
a specific task, right? There's the<\/p>\n
inward call Moses's life. He's a<\/p>\n
follower of Yahweh, a follower of God.<\/p>\n
There's this there's this outward call<\/p>\n
and there's this specific call that God<\/p>\n
says, \"Here's what I'm going to do<\/p>\n
through you.\" He calls to Moses with a<\/p>\n
particular work.<\/p>\n
If you look back through the Bible, look<\/p>\n
ahead through the Bible, look at our<\/p>\n
lives, look back in our lives, you know,<\/p>\n
God called Abraham to leave his home.<\/p>\n
God called David, King David to lead<\/p>\n
Israel. Called him from being a shepherd<\/p>\n
to be a king, lead the people. God<\/p>\n
called Mary to carry and bear the son of<\/p>\n
God.<\/p>\n
God called the apostle Paul to preach<\/p>\n
the gospel to the Gentiles.<\/p>\n
Inward, outward spec uh specific<\/p>\n
or unique calling. We see this happening<\/p>\n
in the scriptures. We see this happening<\/p>\n
in our own lives.<\/p>\n
All of God. All of this of God and by<\/p>\n
God and for God's good unfolding plan.<\/p>\n
So what happens here at the bush? God<\/p>\n
reveals himself<\/p>\n
to Moses.<\/p>\n
In verse six,<\/p>\n
he says, \"I am the God of your father.\"<\/p>\n
God says, \"I am the God of your father.\"<\/p>\n
the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac,<\/p>\n
the God of Jacob.<\/p>\n
Now, this lineage,<\/p>\n
it shows Moses, demonstrates to Moses<\/p>\n
and to us that God is the God, the God<\/p>\n
that has been working all along to this<\/p>\n
point and and to this point, working in<\/p>\n
all of these things that have been<\/p>\n
happening to fulfill his promises, his<\/p>\n
covenantal promises.<\/p>\n
So to Moses, this voice, this presence<\/p>\n
says,\"I am God. I am the God that you<\/p>\n
know. I am the God of your fathers.\"<\/p>\n
Now, but God reveals this information uh<\/p>\n
as he reveals himself to Moses to<\/p>\n
underscore like all that you hear is<\/p>\n
part of my unfolding plan. Remember,<\/p>\n
Moses is hearing this and he's baffled.<\/p>\n
I'm sure he's terrified. I'm sure. And<\/p>\n
God is is revealing himself, identifying<\/p>\n
himself and then giving a very specific<\/p>\n
message to Moses. God says he has seen<\/p>\n
the affliction.<\/p>\n
He has seen the suffering.<\/p>\n
He knows the suffering of the people.<\/p>\n
He's heard their cries and he's acting<\/p>\n
to deliver them.<\/p>\n
He's going to do something.<\/p>\n
God is going to demonstrate his power<\/p>\n
and he's going to do it through Moses.<\/p>\n
Now, Moses is quick to question this.<\/p>\n
Quick to question this out of fear, out<\/p>\n
of doubt,<\/p>\n
out of a lot of things, I'm sure, as we<\/p>\n
likely would, I'm sure. But here are two<\/p>\n
truths that we learn about God in this<\/p>\n
text.<\/p>\n
God has compassion<\/p>\n
on those that call out to him.<\/p>\n
Israel calling out to God. Do you hear<\/p>\n
us? Yes. He's come. He's going to act.<\/p>\n
God has compassion on those that call<\/p>\n
out to him. And God equips and works<\/p>\n
through those he calls to serve him. God<\/p>\n
has compassion on those that call out to<\/p>\n
him. Even today,<\/p>\n
this is the God of the Bible. even<\/p>\n
today. Does God hear? Yes. Does God know<\/p>\n
of my suffering? Yes. It's what<\/p>\n
Christians cling to. God knows. And then<\/p>\n
God equips and works through those he<\/p>\n
calls to serve him. Now, not only that,<\/p>\n
right? Not only does he equip Moses<\/p>\n
here, but God says<\/p>\n
he promises to do what? To be with<\/p>\n
Moses. To be with Moses.<\/p>\n
God has come to rescue his people. He<\/p>\n
will work through Moses to bring this<\/p>\n
all about. And God reveals that he will<\/p>\n
be with Moses. He reveals to Moses that<\/p>\n
he will reveal himself further to the<\/p>\n
people through Moses. He will reveal<\/p>\n
himself to Israel, his power. He will<\/p>\n
reveal himself to Pharaoh through his<\/p>\n
wondrous works and power. God will<\/p>\n
deliver. God is going to do this. Why?<\/p>\n
He's promised.<\/p>\n
And he is a God that meets his promises<\/p>\n
and he's demonstrating this.<\/p>\n
So Moses asks God for further<\/p>\n
clarification.<\/p>\n
He asks God for instructions<\/p>\n
so he can because he can imagine what's<\/p>\n
going to happen if he's going to go<\/p>\n
before Pharaoh. And so in verse 13, look<\/p>\n
at that. The God of your fathers has<\/p>\n
sent you. Who is this God? Right now<\/p>\n
remember in Egypt and surrounding<\/p>\n
nations and other faiths even at this<\/p>\n
time other religions<\/p>\n
uh there was pluralism there was<\/p>\n
polytheism right multiple gods. Um the<\/p>\n
Egyptians honored and worshiped many<\/p>\n
many different gods right in their in<\/p>\n
their understanding of the world. And so<\/p>\n
Pharaoh is surely going to ask who is<\/p>\n
this god right? Who god who and and what<\/p>\n
power does this god have? What authority<\/p>\n
does this god have? like who what what<\/p>\n
are you talking about? And so Moses<\/p>\n
wants to know and God's response is to<\/p>\n
affirm the lineage and the covenantal<\/p>\n
promises. God is the one true God, the<\/p>\n
powerful God, the creator God, the<\/p>\n
sustainer God of all that is. And God is<\/p>\n
ready to demonstrate<\/p>\n
his power. How? Through wonders and<\/p>\n
miraculous signs. This is what is going<\/p>\n
to speak to Pharaoh.<\/p>\n
Pharaoh's going to want to say, \"Well,<\/p>\n
show me. Show me.\"<\/p>\n
And then we see what happens here is<\/p>\n
that God actually does a trial run.<\/p>\n
Moses needs to see. So, it's sort of a<\/p>\n
trial run, if you will, with Moses to<\/p>\n
show Moses this power to reveal to Moses<\/p>\n
this power. So, the scene is being set.<\/p>\n
God has identified himself to Moses.<\/p>\n
He's connected himself with the lineage<\/p>\n
of Israel. He's identified himself and<\/p>\n
he's ready to act to fulfill his<\/p>\n
covenant promises.<\/p>\n
And God's response of, and this is what<\/p>\n
you tell Pharaoh, God's response is, I<\/p>\n
am who I am.<\/p>\n
Tell Pharaoh,<\/p>\n
I am has sent you.<\/p>\n
I am has sent you. Now, this phrase is<\/p>\n
just full of so much meaning in Hebrew<\/p>\n
for the people. Then Jesus uses this<\/p>\n
phrase later and it gets him in a lot of<\/p>\n
trouble with the religious leaders of<\/p>\n
the day. So, we could really spend a lot<\/p>\n
of time on this, but again, we're<\/p>\n
looking at just a snapshot of Moses's<\/p>\n
life tonight and we will continue<\/p>\n
looking at his life. You'll see how all<\/p>\n
these things work together. But this is<\/p>\n
a huge a huge statement that God is<\/p>\n
making. I am who I am.<\/p>\n
Speaking of God's self-existence,<\/p>\n
God's divine nature. God is creator and<\/p>\n
sustainer. Like everything is held<\/p>\n
together in and by God's power. And that<\/p>\n
God is immutable. Meaning that God does<\/p>\n
not change.<\/p>\n
God is the same.<\/p>\n
the God of your fathers, the God of<\/p>\n
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob. So all of these<\/p>\n
things are wrapped up in this in this<\/p>\n
phrase. I am who I am. Do not change.<\/p>\n
I am God, the create, the creator, the<\/p>\n
maker of all, the sustainer of all. I am<\/p>\n
the only God. I am the powerful God. All<\/p>\n
of that wrapped up in that meaning or<\/p>\n
that in that phrase, I am who I am. And<\/p>\n
so Moses says,<\/p>\n
\"Tell Pharaoh,<\/p>\n
I am has sent you.\"<\/p>\n
So God has fully prepared Moses with<\/p>\n
everything he needs. And that major<\/p>\n
piece is I I will be with you. I will be<\/p>\n
with you.<\/p>\n
Now, God's faithfulness to accomplish<\/p>\n
his will even after God<\/p>\n
has shown these signs, right? right?<\/p>\n
Like we're reading about them and trying<\/p>\n
to imagine them, trying to imagine what<\/p>\n
that must have been like. But even after<\/p>\n
God demonstrated these sides to Moses,<\/p>\n
we see and maybe understand that Moses<\/p>\n
is consumed with fear and doubt.<\/p>\n
Fear and doubt. He's focused on himself.<\/p>\n
He's focused on what he says is his lack<\/p>\n
of eloquence, lack of ability.<\/p>\n
He cites that he says, you know, I<\/p>\n
I don't know what to say. I'm I'm not<\/p>\n
I'm not very good. Like, you don't want<\/p>\n
to send me. I'm not I'm not the one. You<\/p>\n
don't want to do this. Even though God<\/p>\n
has just shown these signs and<\/p>\n
instructions and even has said, I will<\/p>\n
be with you. So, so God actually<\/p>\n
confront confronts Moses. He talks about<\/p>\n
that. Who who made you?<\/p>\n
Who created you? Who fashioned you in<\/p>\n
your mother's womb?<\/p>\n
I will be with you. I will be your<\/p>\n
mouth. Moses is still unsure. Send<\/p>\n
somebody else. Isn't there anybody else?<\/p>\n
We've seen We see this right in the<\/p>\n
scriptures and perhaps we see it in our<\/p>\n
own hearts.<\/p>\n
Don't you want to do this through<\/p>\n
someone else?<\/p>\n
And the text says that God's anger was<\/p>\n
kindled against Moses.<\/p>\n
And so what we really see here is God's<\/p>\n
great patience,<\/p>\n
his grace, his mercy. It's evident here.<\/p>\n
He shows compassion. He shows mercy in<\/p>\n
the midst of Moses's fear and doubt.<\/p>\n
Fear and doubt.<\/p>\n
Our own reluctance is often fueled by<\/p>\n
fear and doubt. Right? I can't do that.<\/p>\n
I won't do that. Or what if I did that?<\/p>\n
What happens? Right? Fear and doubt.<\/p>\n
But here we see God is going to deliver<\/p>\n
on his promises. God is faithful to<\/p>\n
accomplish what he's going to<\/p>\n
accomplish. And even though Moses is<\/p>\n
being difficult to work with, God is<\/p>\n
still going to work through him, still<\/p>\n
going to provide through him. And for<\/p>\n
him, how does he do that? He says,<\/p>\n
\"Look, here's Aaron.<\/p>\n
Aaron's going to go with you, too.\"<\/p>\n
That's incredible patience and love and<\/p>\n
mercy from God here.<\/p>\n
God says, \"I'll speak through him. I<\/p>\n
will be with you and teach you both what<\/p>\n
to do.\"<\/p>\n
It's merciful. It's amazing, right? I<\/p>\n
mean, Moses's fear and reluctance does<\/p>\n
not thwart God's plan.<\/p>\n
Doesn't<\/p>\n
God's still going to do this. Still<\/p>\n
going to work through Moses.<\/p>\n
Now, we've looked at just a few things<\/p>\n
tonight. We're going to be looking at<\/p>\n
more of what happens through Moses's<\/p>\n
life. Now, Moses was called to lead.<\/p>\n
This is a sermon about leadership.<\/p>\n
What does that mean to lead? Right? What<\/p>\n
are we called to? And all of us in a way<\/p>\n
are called to lead others.<\/p>\n
You know, the Bible at other places, it<\/p>\n
speaks about living very simply before<\/p>\n
Love your neighbor. What does it mean to<\/p>\n
love your neighbor? This week, who like<\/p>\n
asking that question, it's asked of<\/p>\n
Jesus. Who is my neighbor? And Jesus<\/p>\n
shares, right? He teaches that man who<\/p>\n
his neighbor is.<\/p>\n
We have physical neighbors live next<\/p>\n
door to us and then the neighbor is the<\/p>\n
other.<\/p>\n
So who's who's that person maybe this<\/p>\n
week<\/p>\n
where we, you know, God has called us to<\/p>\n
love him, love God, and to love others<\/p>\n
in his name. Who needs to hear of God's<\/p>\n
love this week? What does that look<\/p>\n
like? Right? What does that look like?<\/p>\n
Maybe that can be our prayer is that God<\/p>\n
would show us this week.<\/p>\n
So, um, as as we think about these three<\/p>\n
things that God is<\/p>\n
he's faithful to accomplish his will,<\/p>\n
that God is is clear to reveal himself,<\/p>\n
and that God does have this call upon<\/p>\n
us, this inward call, this outward call.<\/p>\n
What does that look like for us now as<\/p>\n
followers of Jesus right now and in this<\/p>\n
week ahead?<\/p>\n
[snorts] There's a a story I heard some<\/p>\n
years ago that I'll close with that that<\/p>\n
speaks about this in a way. And I don't<\/p>\n
know if it's a real story, but it's a<\/p>\n
good story that kind of focuses as an<\/p>\n
example<\/p>\n
about God's work in our lives and how<\/p>\n
God invites us to be a part of what he's<\/p>\n
doing.<\/p>\n
And a story goes like this. There's a<\/p>\n
father<\/p>\n
and he has this summer project. Kids are<\/p>\n
out of school and he's going to build<\/p>\n
this this shed, you know, small building<\/p>\n
out in the back of the house.<\/p>\n
And he thinks this will be great to do<\/p>\n
with the kids. He has young kids, but<\/p>\n
he's like, I'm gonna I'm going to do I'm<\/p>\n
going to bring the kids together each<\/p>\n
day. We'll work on it. We'll build this<\/p>\n
together. And so they set out to do it.<\/p>\n
Now there are power tools involved.<\/p>\n
It's dangerous. Uh there are precise<\/p>\n
measurements that need to be made and<\/p>\n
you know it needs to look good. It needs<\/p>\n
to function. And so the kids come out<\/p>\n
with their little plastic tools, right?<\/p>\n
Hammer, saw.<\/p>\n
Uh they get to help with the painting.<\/p>\n
The father lets them paint, you know,<\/p>\n
when the shed's done. But at the end of<\/p>\n
the day, it's clear like they were so<\/p>\n
limited in what they could do, right? So<\/p>\n
limited.<\/p>\n
But they were invited to be a part of<\/p>\n
what of what the father was doing,<\/p>\n
right? Building this shed. And the<\/p>\n
father helped them and the father worked<\/p>\n
through them.<\/p>\n
And at the end of the day, at the end of<\/p>\n
the summer, if you will, when this shed<\/p>\n
was done, we could honestly say in this<\/p>\n
story too, it was all the father's work.<\/p>\n
It was all the father's work. And yet,<\/p>\n
this father brought his children in to<\/p>\n
be a part of it. And there was love and<\/p>\n
there was laughter and there was joy.<\/p>\n
We can see where this analogy goes,<\/p>\n
right? God is a faithful God.<\/p>\n
The God that we worship as Christians is<\/p>\n
the God of our fathers. The God of<\/p>\n
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, God of Moses,<\/p>\n
the God that descended on this mountain<\/p>\n
centuries ago to reveal himself fully<\/p>\n
to a man that he would use to deliver<\/p>\n
his people.<\/p>\n
There's so much there.<\/p>\n
I am. The great I am is calling out to<\/p>\n
us and working here today in this world.<\/p>\n
Why? Because he's made promises and he's<\/p>\n
going to deliver on those promises.<\/p>\n
Now, we have a lot more of Moses ahead.<\/p>\n
Any any binge watchers out there of like<\/p>\n
Netflix shows, you got to come back for<\/p>\n
Moses week three. I mean, there's some<\/p>\n
amazing stuff that's going to happen.<\/p>\n
And we have two years of this ahead. not<\/p>\n
not the entire two years, but we're<\/p>\n
going to be looking at a lot of passages<\/p>\n
in the Bible in this theme of how we are<\/p>\n
influenced and God leads us to care for<\/p>\n
this world around us. So, a lot more of<\/p>\n
Moses ahead. You're free to read ahead,<\/p>\n
can skip ahead. Uh, more sermons coming.<\/p>\n
We can't cover it all today. We didn't<\/p>\n
cover it all today.<\/p>\n
But let us ponder.<\/p>\n
Let us meditate. Let us sit with what we<\/p>\n
have seen and been reminded of today.<\/p>\n
God is faithful to call. God is faithful<\/p>\n
to reveal himself.<\/p>\n
And he's faithful to accomplish<\/p>\n
his good will.<\/p>\n
In this story, just in this part that we<\/p>\n
read even today, God's covenantal<\/p>\n
promises<\/p>\n
were being fulfilled like they were<\/p>\n
happening.<\/p>\n
They were happening.<\/p>\n
God had promised to rescue his people<\/p>\n
and he was he was doing it. He heard<\/p>\n
their cries and he was acting.<\/p>\n
He was he was he had promised to deliver<\/p>\n
them from their sin, from death and he<\/p>\n
was doing it. And this is all leading<\/p>\n
ahead to the coming Messiah. It's all<\/p>\n
pointing ahead to Jesus. When Jesus<\/p>\n
would come, Emmanuel, God with us, just<\/p>\n
like God was with Moses.<\/p>\n
Emmanuel coming into this world through<\/p>\n
Jesus<\/p>\n
to be with us.<\/p>\n
In the New Testament, a couple of<\/p>\n
passages<\/p>\n
in first Timothy, of course, this<\/p>\n
looking about looking to the coming one.<\/p>\n
There is one God<\/p>\n
and one mediator between God and man,<\/p>\n
men, the man Jesus Christ, who gave<\/p>\n
himself a ransom for all to be testified<\/p>\n
in due time.<\/p>\n
And then in John the 14th chapter, Jesus<\/p>\n
speaking of himself saying this, I am<\/p>\n
the way.<\/p>\n
I am the way, the truth, and the life.<\/p>\n
No man comes to the father<\/p>\n
but by me. Friends, if you are a<\/p>\n
believer, a follower of Jesus, if you're<\/p>\n
a Christian, maybe you've been a<\/p>\n
Christian for a long time, maybe you've<\/p>\n
come to faith in in recent years.<\/p>\n
Be reminded of this today. You've been<\/p>\n
called like the God of Abraham, Isaac,<\/p>\n
and Jacob called you.<\/p>\n
That inward calling, he's also given you<\/p>\n
an outward call. Love and care, right?<\/p>\n
Serve, grow in the gospel and serve. So,<\/p>\n
be reminded by that today. Be encouraged<\/p>\n
by that today. Even this week, even<\/p>\n
maybe we feel reluctant like Moses, I<\/p>\n
can't go to my colleague.<\/p>\n
You can.<\/p>\n
Why?<\/p>\n
Emmanuel,<\/p>\n
our God who's with us.<\/p>\n
And then some of you tonight might say,<\/p>\n
you know what? I again, like I prayed<\/p>\n
earlier tonight, I don't I'm not a<\/p>\n
Christian. I'll be honest about that.<\/p>\n
You know, you might say, I'm not a<\/p>\n
Christian. Um I have questions. I have<\/p>\n
real questions. And those questions kind<\/p>\n
of prevent me from, you know, fully<\/p>\n
believing. First of all, let me say<\/p>\n
we're really glad that you're here<\/p>\n
because we want to be a church that<\/p>\n
really honors those questions. We want<\/p>\n
to be welcoming and we want to say this<\/p>\n
is what we believe and and we understand<\/p>\n
we understand those questions. Even<\/p>\n
believers here maybe had those questions<\/p>\n
at some point in their journey. And so<\/p>\n
we want to honor you and those questions<\/p>\n
by speaking with you by hearing from you<\/p>\n
about those questions. So anyway, my my<\/p>\n
hope for you tonight is that you think<\/p>\n
about this now you consider this like is<\/p>\n
this true?<\/p>\n
And if if God is God and we believe God<\/p>\n
is a God that reveals,<\/p>\n
would you ask would you ask God<\/p>\n
to reveal<\/p>\n
himself to you? So that's that's my hope<\/p>\n
for you. That's my hope for you is that<\/p>\n
you would entertain this text or<\/p>\n
entertain the claims of the Bible.<\/p>\n
Entertain the claims of Jesus about<\/p>\n
himself that he is the way, the truth,<\/p>\n
and the life. Is he? Ask him. Ask him.<\/p>\n
We believe that God answers.<\/p>\n
Let me pray. Let me pray for us. God, we<\/p>\n
thank you that we can consider<\/p>\n
uh the truths of these passage, this<\/p>\n
passage today. It's an it's an amazing<\/p>\n
part of the scriptures. And even as we<\/p>\n
try to wrap our imaginations around this<\/p>\n
bush on fire, not being consumed<\/p>\n
and and you coming in in your presence<\/p>\n
to speak<\/p>\n
with Moses, it's just it's an amazing<\/p>\n
story. Help us understand it. Help us<\/p>\n
glean from it. Help us to wrap our<\/p>\n
understanding and thinking around it.<\/p>\n
But not just that, change us through it.<\/p>\n
You know, some of us may see uh in our<\/p>\n
own hearts like same tendencies, if<\/p>\n
we're honest, that Moses struggled with.<\/p>\n
Maybe we just have bad attitudes<\/p>\n
sometimes. I know I do.<\/p>\n
So, help me with that. Maybe we have<\/p>\n
doubts, like real questions. Even when<\/p>\n
we have faith in you, we still like<\/p>\n
wrestle with with questions and and and<\/p>\n
we're tempted to doubt or we do doubt.<\/p>\n
Help us in that. Maybe we have a lack of<\/p>\n
desire to obey you. Maybe we just don't<\/p>\n
know how to trust you in a certain<\/p>\n
situation or with a certain, you know,<\/p>\n
something that happens in our lives and<\/p>\n
we think, \"Now what? Now, now what? I<\/p>\n
believe, but help my unbelief.\" That's<\/p>\n
biblical. That question was posed in the<\/p>\n
New Testament. Help my unbelief.<\/p>\n
Perhaps some of us we're just we<\/p>\n
struggle with fear like Moses did or or<\/p>\n
doubt like in our own hearts we think ah<\/p>\n
[sighs] I just I can't do this or I'm<\/p>\n
not strong enough or I'm I just oh I I<\/p>\n
just can't do it. So help us to lean<\/p>\n
help us to lean into you and be reminded<\/p>\n
that you say you don't have to do it. In<\/p>\n
fact you cannot do it. Trust me. So help<\/p>\n
us with that. Help us to trust you. help<\/p>\n
us to even know what that means and<\/p>\n
looks like.<\/p>\n
Would you remind us that there's no fear<\/p>\n
in love? That perfect love casts out<\/p>\n
fear.<\/p>\n
God, as you've demonstrated grace and<\/p>\n
patience, like in this passage with<\/p>\n
Moses, we see that when when he was so<\/p>\n
reluctant and just saying, \"I can't do<\/p>\n
it, you know, send someone else.\" And<\/p>\n
yet, you know, your anger was kindled,<\/p>\n
but it was an anger that was<\/p>\n
undergurtded with love. You were<\/p>\n
merciful to him, and you sent Aaron. You<\/p>\n
provided even in that, you still worked<\/p>\n
through Moses. You didn't cast him out.<\/p>\n
You didn't You didn't come down so harsh<\/p>\n
on him.<\/p>\n
You were merciful, God. You are<\/p>\n
merciful. So, help us see that mercy.<\/p>\n
Encourage us. Encourage us in these<\/p>\n
truths of the gospel.<\/p>\n
and you have promised to be with us,<\/p>\n
God. And some of us, we we say that we<\/p>\n
say Emmanuel, it rolls off our tongues<\/p>\n
and we say God with us and yet we don't<\/p>\n
feel it. And so we need you to work in<\/p>\n
us to just remind us even when we feel<\/p>\n
like that desert place in our faith.<\/p>\n
Help us to know that you are there. Even<\/p>\n
if we don't feel it, that you are there.<\/p>\n
And help us in that moment. Help us in<\/p>\n
that season.<\/p>\n
Help us to follow you. Help us to<\/p>\n
believe and to cling to your<\/p>\n
faithfulness.<\/p>\n
We ask and pray all of this in your holy<\/p>","english_search_text":"","":"","original_publish_date":"20260114","video_url":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=NAFQsdpe1iw","video_id":"NAFQsdpe1iw","video_duration":"54:19","channel_name":"Grace City Bangkok"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=82"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":83,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82\/revisions\/83"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/81"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=82"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=82"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=82"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}