Exodus 3 - When God Calls the Inadequate

I'm going to invite you this morning to Exodus chapter three, where we're going to be together today. Exodus chapter three. And what I would just label as one of the most important chapters, really in all of Scripture. That's not to say that all the Bible is not important. It certainly is. But if someone were to ask me, could you just highlight for me some of the most important chapters of the Bible? I don't know where I would rank Exodus chapter three, but it would certainly be at the top of my list of significant passages in Scripture, some of it because of what's happening in Moses's life. But more so of what it means for all of our lives to understand this chapter, that the God that Moses encounters in this chapter is the God that we serve today, the God that calls us into relationship with him. And so what does it mean for us to understand who this God is?

In Exodus chapter three, this is really the catalytic chapter for understanding not only Moses's story in the Lord, but how this story compelled Moses to go back to Pharaoh, which brought freedom for the children of Israel from a place of slavery to the place of God's presence as they journeyed with him. And when we look at the book of Exodus, I just want to remind us that this story, this book of Exodus, is a redemptive story. In fact, understanding this story is important to really understanding the rest of the Bible, because the rest of Scripture uses this physical story of being rescued from this place of slavery into this place of freedom as a picture of what it means to really be a follower of Jesus, that as Israel goes through this physically, having been slaves in Egypt, it's also a picture of what happens to them spiritually, but it's a reminder of what God desires to do to all of us spiritually, that all of us come from this path of brokenness, that we are slaves to sin, but we find new life in Christ and that life in Christ, God calls us to so much more.

And so as we start to go through this book of Exodus together and we see that grand redemption story, I'm reminded that while Israel is going to go through this, there is also a mini redemption story that leads to the greater redemption story. And that mini redemption story is what happens in the life of Moses. And if you remember, Moses was an individual that went through a lot of turmoil in the first parts of his life. In fact, I would say in looking at Moses, we might, if someone were to ask you, describe to me the kind of person Moses was, very early in that description we would say this godly leader of the Bible, right? A godly leader of Israel, godly leader of the Bible. But sometimes we fail to recognize that that wasn't until the later parts of Moses's years. He spent the first 80 years of his life, or the first two thirds of his life, wandering and lost. And it wasn't until the latter half of his life that he truly began to understand who he was in light of who God was. And then God led him not only on this path of his own redemption story, but also used him as an instrument to help others find their freedom too.

And it's the same for us as we think about our own relationship with the Lord. Maybe we look back at the pain that was our past and we might say things like, how could God possibly use me? Or why would God want to use me? Well, Moses, the story of redemption becomes a beautiful reminder that God's not finished with you yet. And when we think about all the beautiful things that God not only desires to do in you and through you, it's Exodus chapter three that paints this picture for us of how that journey begins, because we might look at ourselves and think to ourselves, I'm not sufficient. But I want you to know that's a beautiful place to be in terms of what Exodus three means, because the story of the book of Exodus is not about looking at the sufficiency of who you are. It's about looking at the sufficiency of who your God is. And sometimes it takes challenging moments in our lives to get us to that place. If we're honest, it's most of the time, if not all the time. It's not until we come from this broken place that we begin to realize the significance of who God is and what that really means for me.

In fact, there's a passage in the book of Psalms, in Psalm 119, verse 71, that says it like this: It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes. It's really acknowledging that in the creature comforts of life, when everything's going the way that I want, as I rule by my authority, as if I'm the God of my life, that I failed to realize that I'm made for so much more. But it's in the brokenness of things that I experience that I start to recognize that I need more. In fact, the book of Ecclesiastes reminds us, God has written eternity in your hearts. And so you were designed for simply more than the pleasures that this earth has to offer. God's got an eternal perspective in the way that he's created you. And it's not until our lives are found in him that we discover that purpose.

And so we're titling today "When God Calls the Inadequate," not because I'm trying to insult you and saying you're inadequate, but from a theological perspective, it's important that you come to the understanding of realizing that you are, because you weren't the creator of you. And it's not until your life is given over to the Lord that you discover the purposes for which you were created in him. And this is the battle that Moses is wrestling with. In all the brokenness that he's gone through and the years of wandering in the wilderness, he's lost sight of perspective to the greater calling that God has placed on him, not only in a personal relationship with the Lord, but all the things that God desires to not only do in him, but also through him. And it's not until we come to the end of ourselves that we start to discover the real meaning of the purpose of our existence, which is not looking deeper within me, but looking beyond me and the greatness of who he is. And it's not until my life is given over to that that I start to discover that in him, and I can really live the purpose which God has created me in him.

So how do we do this when God calls the inadequate? You're going to see in these next couple of chapters — really it started in chapter two — but Moses's transformation in the Lord takes three chapters. We might say he's a little bit stubborn. And so if you find yourself that way, or maybe we could say it like this — I was kinder than just calling him stubborn — I could say he's gone through a lot of difficulty in his life, and there is a reluctance in his heart to truly entrust himself to the Lord. But finally, over chapters two, three, and four, which is 80 years of Moses's life, in those three chapters, Moses finally comes to a place where he gives his life to God. And as he gives his life to the Lord, he comes before God giving him all these excuses. You'll see at the end of chapter three, and next week especially as we get to chapter four, Moses gives God all these excuses of why there has to be someone better, but yet God still desires that Moses not only have a relationship with him, but that he becomes an instrument for his purposes in this world.

So what does it look like when God calls the inadequate? And maybe that would be you this morning. Maybe we wouldn't come out and outright just say that. But if you thought about using your life for the Lord, you might look around and say, well, there's probably better people in this room. But I want you to know that if you just give over to that, not only do you miss the opportunity to be a blessing to other people, but it's in rising to the challenge that God has called us to in this world that we start to learn really who God is experientially. And it strengthens us in our own faith journey when we would just be willing to say yes to him.

So what does it look like for us to follow that path when God calls the inadequate? Let me give you point number one in your notes and we'll read some verses together. Number one is this: surrender to his holiness. Your relationship with the Lord has got to start with this place of surrender to the greatness of who God is. And really we'll see this play out in both point number one and point number two. But in your relationship with the Lord, I find that God carries two titles and both of them are important in how we live our life for him. One is the title of Savior and the other is the title of Lord. Both are significant and both are important. And in terms of being Savior, we're saying this: that I don't really discover the purpose that I am created for in this world until I see the importance of acknowledging God as my Savior, that God has pursued me with his life, he has become my substitute in taking my sins to the cross, that I might be forgiven and freed in him. And so I need God to be my Savior. I need God to be my deliverer. I need God to be my rescuer. I need forgiven of my past so I can step into the future with him. I need that relationship with the Lord. Salvation is where that journey begins, right?

But even more than that, it's not just to see God as my Savior, but also Lord. What does it mean for him to rule over my life, to truly be surrendered to him in all things, to wake up every day and say, God, my life was made for you. And so I put my life in your hands. Please lead me. All that I'm about, all that I want to be centered upon, all the truth and understanding I need, may it be rooted in the identity that I have in you, because of who you are and who I am in light of you. And so both Savior and Lord become significant if we're going to follow the path that God has called us on. And this is what it means to really be surrendered to his holiness.

You see in Exodus chapter three how it begins in verse one. Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian. And he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, which is really Mount Sinai, the mountain of God. It's interesting you find this reiterated again in Acts chapter seven, that the place that Moses first encounters the Lord is at Mount Sinai, and this is the very place where he's going to lead the children of Israel to. And it reminds us that we're not going to be good leaders for the Lord unless we've been led by the Lord. Moses can't lead the children of Israel on their redemptive story without his own heart being redeemed in the Lord first. And so Moses is going to all the places where God's going to lead him to lead other people to. And same with your walk with the Lord. As you grow in your relationship with him, you're able to guide other people along in how God has shaped you and the truths that you've learned.

And then it says in verse two, and the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. And he looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. This feels foolish to say, but I feel the need to do this because every once in a while I encounter someone that will do what I want to encourage you not to do. When you read narrative stories, it's important to remember narrative stories are not prescriptive, okay? They're just descriptive. And if you're here and you think God talks to you in a burning bush, please come see me after the service. We need to have a conversation. Okay. This is not to say this is the norm. If you want to encounter God, this is the exception. This is why it becomes a story for us.

But it is important to see that Moses has an encounter with the Lord in verse three. And Moses said, I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned. Please know, if you're ever out in the wilderness of Utah and you see a bush on fire, that doesn't mean you need to stay and wait to see if it's of God. Doesn't mean you need to get closer to it, right? This is an exceptional moment. When we're outside and we see a fire, you don't run to it, you run away from it. Okay. But Moses saw something unique about this bush, that it wasn't being consumed. And this really teaches us about the nature of who God is. God isn't here to use you, abuse you, and lose you, right? When God uses things, we're better off for it, right? It doesn't take away from it. It enhances the beauty of it. And this is what happens with the bush. It's not consumed. It's not destroyed. But God's got a greater purpose ultimately that culminates in the life of Moses here.

But in verse four, when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, Moses, Moses! And he said, Here I am. Then he said, Do not come near. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground. And 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 at God.

It's a very powerful moment for Moses in realizing the greatness of his God, that he hasn't been paying attention to all these years of wandering in the wilderness, and he's lost sight of this greater calling that God had for his life. But it's in the really the mundane of what his life had become that Moses's eyes are awakened. And for many of us, it kind of works this way. It's not that we plan this divine encounter with who God is, but there's just the circumstances of life that God has orchestrated that leads us to him. And sometimes, like Moses, it might take years for us to really open our eyes to what God has been trying to communicate to us for years. But it's in the ordinary of Moses's life, where he's just spent the last 40 years as some dude taking care of sheep in a desert, and in just what was a practical day for him, a typical day in the life of Moses, that God creates this extraordinary moment.

And maybe for your life, you might have just been going through the regular routine of what life was. And all of a sudden your path was intersected with someone else. Or maybe there was a circumstance that you encountered that just opened your eyes to make you think, what in the world am I doing? I'm just waking up each day and living each day as if it's the same. But there's got to be more to life than this. And in the ordinary of what his life was, God opens his eyes to the greatness of who he is.

And Moses begins to learn about the significance of this God, where God says to him, he calls him to him and he says, Moses, take your sandals off, because you're standing on holy ground. And there's a few things that I think are important that are happening in this passage. One, God wants Moses to realize that even though the day might be ordinary, encountering me is rather extraordinary. So we just don't want to treat this moment like it's any other. And even for us this morning, the sacredness of what it is to gather as God's people, this should say to us, when it comes to the sacredness of God's word, that I should lean into this, I should be more attentive to what God has here. This was monumental for the life of Moses; this could be for my life as well, in my understanding and the trajectory of where things are going right now. And so Moses is learning about the intimacy of this moment, that this is not something just to treat lightly. Neither for us — the gift that it is to have a relationship with the Lord is not something to treat lightly, but to understand the significance of what it is, and not to say it's mundane, as if it's like the rest of life, but to reorient our life to the significance of this moment, to then drive forward the rest of my life, to put it all into perspective.

And so Moses is asked to take his sandals off in order to treat it this way. But I think there's something more even happening in this passage. It's to keep the humility of this moment in Moses's life, meaning just because you're encountering God doesn't make you better than other people. In fact, to remind you of this, Moses, I want your feet in the dirt. And by Moses putting his feet in the dirt, I think it is a connection between what it means to be a creature before creator.

If you were to go back to the book of Genesis, chapter two, when God created humanity, it tells us that he made us different than any other of God's creatures. He made us the crown of his creation, right? He made you in the image of God. So all other of God's creatures God has made, not made in the image of God. But you stand alone in the fact that you're made in the image of God, which means there's a way in which you're created that's designed to connect to your creator that's unique from the way anything else was created. That's why when you go into the woods, you don't see a deer bowing to pray or a squirrel building a house of worship. There's something about the way you're designed that longs to connect to your creator, that realizes you're made for an eternal purpose. And so there's this need within us for more, something greater to which we are called to belong.

But at the same time, it's to realize, even though you're made in the image of God, you're not made in the image of God in every way. And the reason we know that is in Genesis chapter two, verse seven, when God creates us, it tells us he forms you from the dirt, from the earth, and then he breathes into you living beings. So the part of us that is made like God is when God gives us the breath of life; we connect to him as our creator spiritually. But God's not made from dirt. And so what he's saying to you in Exodus is that he's making this distinction of the holiness of this moment by reminding Moses of who he is. He is a creature from the earth. He's formed from the dirt. And at the same time, he has this incredible gift of being able to connect to this God, to know him more intimately and more deeply.

And maybe the challenge for all of us is to say it like this: proximity to God doesn't mean you have a relationship with the Lord, but you need to understand the sacredness of what God has offered to you by delivering himself to you. Even in this moment, in an intimate way, God has made you for relationship in being made in his image, but also he has connected you to him further by coming to give his life for you at the cross. And so it's not until our lives are truly surrendered to him that we have that relationship with him. Just because you're in proximity to God doesn't mean you have that relationship with the Lord. If you want the ultimate example in Scripture, it's Judas, who spent years with Jesus but didn't truly have a relationship with the Lord. And just because you show up to a church on Sunday, you might be misled to put the label on yourself that that makes you a Christian. Proximity to God doesn't mean relationship with God, but it's not until we give our lives to him.

That's why the Bible tells us in John chapter three, verse 16, For God so loved the world he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him — right, that phrase "believe in" is putting all your trust in who he is and what that means for you and everything that Jesus has accomplished, the sacrifice that he's made — this is what I'm entrusting myself to. This is what's going to define who I am, as my identity becomes Jesus's identity as Jesus has given himself for me. And so Moses is learning this in the significance of this moment.

Tim Keller has a unique illustration he uses in relationship to understanding the authority of God in our lives and what it truly means to surrender. Because he says, you know, there are sometimes people will say things like, well, I have a relationship with the Lord, or I belong to God, or I'm a Christian. He says, but it's interesting that sometimes people might claim that, but they give the weather more authority over their life than they do the Lord. And what he means by that is, you know, we're at a time of year here in Utah where our seasons are changing. We kind of have two big seasons and then these in-between seasons. The two big seasons are really stinking hot or really, really cold, right? But then we get this kind of a spring sometimes. Sometimes we get like six springs, right? And then we get like six falls. But you get to that time of year where you're like, oh, I can't just expect it's going to be super hot or super cold. We're going to be somewhere in the in-between. So I've got to get creative with my wardrobe — sometime long sleeve, sometime short sleeve. And here we are in that season of life. But we'll wake up and we'll look at the weather, and we'll use the weather to determine the steps that we take. And we put more authority in the weather and what we're surrendering to than God himself.

And Tim Keller says, it's interesting, we will bow our lives in some way in reverence to what the weather says. But we might, on the other hand, claim who God is, yet our life looks no different. Proximity does not determine relationship with the Lord. But in order to live the life that God has called me to in him, it reminds us that we need to surrender to his holiness.

In fact, I need to give you this last thought and end in verse six. I want you to see what it says of Moses here. God speaks to him and says, I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and the God of Jacob. It's interesting when God declares to Moses who he is, the way he chooses to first introduce himself is through what looks like a grammatical mistake. Because when you read beyond this, even when you go to verse 13, verse 15, and verse 16 of the same chapter, when the idea of God being the God of our father is mentioned, it's actually mentioned in the plural. Verse 13, 15, and 16 say, I am the God of your fathers. And Moses says in verse 13, and God introduces himself to the children of Israel as, I am the God of your fathers, of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. So in each one of these verses it says it in the plural, but here in verse six, it says it in the singular: I am the God of your father. Now what in the world — is the Bible making a mistake? Why do they get it the right way grammatically in verses 13, 15, and 16, but then in verse six they say it in the singular, and then he gives a plural list of names?

You know, there is the possibility you could say, well, the Bible made a mistake and we found the first one, right? But I think there's something more powerful happening here. And I think the thing that God is declaring in this verse is not to say he doesn't know proper grammar. What God is saying in declaring this is he understands where the heart of Moses is. I mean, when you look at Moses's life up until this point, he was a man that was absolutely lost through circumstances that happened to him. He spent the first little bit of his life in a Hebrew home, but then he was uprooted from that and was put into Pharaoh's home. And he was raised for the next 40 years in Pharaoh's home. But then at the age of 40, he says to himself, you know what, the Hebrews are really my people. And he saw an Egyptian attacking the Hebrews, so he thought he would get out and stop it by killing an Egyptian. And when he kills the Egyptian, he thought to himself, surely the Hebrews are going to embrace me now. They're going to see how great I am. They're going to sing my praises because I'm their defender. And look at me in my position of authority — who could resist me? I'm amazing in so many ways. And then when he finally comes before the Hebrew people, he finds that the Hebrew people actually reject him. And not only are they rejecting him, Pharaoh is mad at him for killing one of the Egyptian soldiers. And so Moses, 40 years old, has to run for his life, and he spends the next 40 years wandering in the wilderness.

And when God comes to him and says, I'm the God of your fathers, Moses could have very quickly responded, which one, God? Which one? Because I was raised a Hebrew, then I was raised Egyptian in Pharaoh's household. And then I was raised by a Midian priest, my father-in-law, who became a father figure for me because everyone else disowned me. Out of all the gods I've seen, which God could you possibly be? And so for Moses, he's gone through all this tremendous change, this loss of identity, and he's been isolated from his family and his upbringing for the last 40 years. And through all the hardship that he's gone through, you can't help but imagine that quite possibly he's even thinking about just the exhaustion of moving forward. And maybe for you, through life, you've gone through a set of circumstances, the challenges that you've experienced, and you've come to this place where you have this emotional fatigue, this decision fatigue. You're just like, man, I can't even right now feel like I can make just the simplest of decisions because of the weight of life on my shoulders.

And God in these moments is simplifying it for Moses. Rather than talk about all the gods of your fathers and confusing you with the different deities they worship, Moses, I just want you to understand who I am and the significance of what that means, and how that leads you down the path that I'm calling you to, not only in relationship with me, but all the beautiful things that I want to do through your life. And so Moses is starting to understand the holiness of this God and the beautiful things that God desires to do through him.

But then point number two is this, which comes with surrendering to his holiness: respond to his calling. To realize that God not only made me for relationship, but he made me for even more, that as I grow in my walk with him, then I get the privilege to live my life in honor of him and the goodness of God made known through my life.

So Moses comes to this place where he gets to honor the Lord. And it says to us in verse ten, Come, and I will send you to Pharaoh, that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt. But Moses said to God, Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt? So as he's coming to understand this God and surrendering to him, he's now learning that God's got a bigger plan for his life. And Moses does what all of us would do. Are you sure, God?

And when I look around a room like this, I can't help but think there are so many incredibly talented people. So don't you want to just pick someone better? I'm fine just kind of sitting back here and cheering them forward. But God, do you really want me? I mean, you think about who I am. Sure, 40 years ago, I was raised in the Egyptian household of Pharaoh. And sure, I had the greatest resources. I understand how those cities ruled and reigned. And I had the greatest education from the world's best superpower at the time. Surely I had all those things, but that was 40 years ago. That was a generation ago. God, that was so long ago. It's almost like people describe it and they could tell me that was me, but it was so long ago I even forget that that was the life that I lived. Is that really what you want?

And I love what God does within the context of the story, because rather than look at the greatness of who Moses is, God constantly turns his attention back to the greatness of who he is. It's the same for us. Anytime we put excuses before the Lord in understanding what God might be calling us to in this world, the tendency is to put our attention on ourselves or our circumstances. Sometimes we might do the "but what if" game. But what if this, God? Or what if that? And we start to try to play all those things out in our minds as if we are God, able to predict the future.

It reminds me of the story in Matthew chapter 19, when the rich young man came to Jesus and he asked, What must I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus immediately starts to list out the Ten Commandments for him. Don't lie, don't cheat, don't steal, don't murder. And the rich young man looks at Jesus and says, I've done all those things. And Jesus then looks at him and says, Well, turn and sell everything that you have and give to the poor. And the rich young man left in despair, realizing how much he loved what he had and wasn't willing to let it go. And so he walks away, and the disciples in those moments look to the Lord, and they said to God, Then how can we ever expect to live up to your expectations? I'm giving you my version of it, but it starts in Matthew 19, verse 21, to the end of the chapter. And Jesus responds and says, With man it's impossible, but with God all things are possible. And Peter responds, But Lord, we've given everything to follow you. And Jesus responds this way: you'll receive in return a hundredfold for eternity, your souls forever. God's getting them to take their eyes off the things of this world and what they're so worried about losing, and saying, Don't think about that. Rather, consider all that you're going to gain. And rather than trust in your own strength, I need you to put your eyes on me. Your calling in this world isn't built on the success of who you are, but on the success of who I am.

So Moses is learning about the holiness of God. Moses is learning about the calling of the Lord. But can I tell you, this last point is the most critical of all of them, because this last point is really the basis for our success in anything that God desires to do in our life. And it's this: rest in his character. Rest in his character.

And can I tell you, I'm going to give you a concluding thought and I'll work through these verses with you. The reason I want to give this to you is because we're going to be pressed for time to really spend a whole lot of time in these verses. But I want you to know, when we think about the significance of who God is and why this is important, it's because so many other things often dictate the way that we live our lives. Even when we look at the richness of who God is, if we're honest in recognizing who God is, even intellectually knowing that, so often in our lives fear becomes the determiner of how I follow that path. Our anxiety will become the determiner of how I live my life. Worry, what-ifs, become the precedent for the path that I might pursue. I might say this is who God is, but then when I live my life, I walk in such a way that other things are determining the steps that I'm taking rather than the richness of my God.

And for Moses, when God is saying to him, I'm going to send you before Pharaoh, you can imagine how challenging that might feel. He could say to God, God, the last time I was there, they wanted to kill me. God, the last time I was there was so long ago, I can't even imagine the people would recognize me now. And the last time I was there, God, I was on top of the world in Pharaoh's household. I've spent the last 40 years as a nobody in the desert. He could have said so many different things. But the answer for Moses's success was not built in Moses. It was built in the greatness of who God is. And so God uses this chapter just to remind him over and over of the qualities, the character of God, and saying, rather than look to you, Moses, stop worrying about that. Look to the greatness of who I am. And when you trust in that holiness, that authority, that's what compels you to live for the glory of God in this world.

And so he goes on and says in verse seven, the Lord said, I have surely seen the afflictions of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to a place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, and many ites — all sorts of them. Verse nine, And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppressed them.

Here's what God is saying. Under point number three, you have some blanks there, so let me give you the first one. The first thing God wants Moses to understand is that God is compassionate. God is compassionate. He's saying, Moses, here's what I want you to know. I not only care about you, I'm the God of your father. My heart is for you, but my heart is for others. And so, Moses, I want you to see my compassion. I'm understanding what's happening to the children of Israel, and my heart is for them. We're going to do something about that, and I'm going to do something about that. And I want you to be the conduit of my glory revealed, so that you can be my mouthpiece, pointing people back to me. It's not about your strength. It's about mine. You happen to be just the tool that I desire to use.

And so he wants them to know that he's a compassionate God and cares for others, which is important, right? If you're going to do anything for the Lord, you want to know that God cares about the things that you're about to do for him. God cares about the people you're about to reach. And that's what God's reflecting in his heart. But I also want you to know that's not enough. It's great that God's a loving God. But when you come before Pharaoh, Moses could be worried about this moment. He could say, that's good, God. I can go before Pharaoh and say, let these people go. And Pharaoh could say, who says so? And I could say, a loving God. And he could say, that's great that your God is loving. But let me cut your head off. Now let's end your life. I don't like you. In that particular moment, you can say, I've got a loving God, but you also need to know you've got a God that can do something about it. So compassion is a wonderful thing to know about the Lord. But if you're really going to stand up this way, you need to know there's more to God than just his love.

And so the story goes on in verse 12. He said, But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you that I have sent you. When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain. I love this. I can tell you one of the most transforming phrases in all of Scripture that's important for us to know: wherever God calls us to, the adequacy of that God sustains us through it. I will be with you. Can I tell you, probably the most powerful phrase for me when I started to walk the path of ministry was this phrase. And I was a kid reluctant to want to do anything that put any attention on you at all, right? But then I got to this place in Scripture where I read this early in the Bible, in the life of Joshua. Joshua chapter one, verse nine, when Joshua takes the position to lead the children of Israel after Moses, and the first thing that God says to him, Don't be afraid. And the reason he says is this: because I will be with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:9. And then you look at the end of Jesus's life, right before his ascension, after his death, burial, and resurrection. In Matthew 28, he commissions all of his people to go into this world and proclaim the gospel. And then in Matthew 28, verses 19 and 20, he gives this promise: I will be with you always. Our success as God's people is not determined by our ability, but rather his made known in us.

It's a different place for me to rest myself, rather than look to me. If you just stop at the first two points, you're missing the most important part, because the way you're going to respond if all you hear is point one and two is religiously. You're going to respond and say, okay, it's up to me now. God said this, I better do it. I got to put on my cape and prove that I'm worthy. I got to put on my cape and force change in this world. I got to put on my cape and prove to people — whatever. And we just sit on that pursuit. And what ends up happening is we drive people further away from the Lord than to him. Because anything that's going to happen in the hearts of people is not by my strength. It's supernatural. It's only going to take place by his power. And the only way that's going to work is not leaning more into me. The only way that's going to work is being more surrendered to him.

So there's the compassion of who God is. Let me give you the next one. Actually, let me just read verse 13 and I'll move on. It says, Then Moses said to God, If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, the God of your fathers has sent me to you, and they ask me, what is your name? What shall I say to them? So Moses is saying, okay, God, I love that you're a loving God. I love that you're going to be with me, but you've got to give me more than that. Help me understand that this is going to go okay, right? I don't want to just show up before Pharaoh and at minimum look like a fool, at most just lose my life. I want to have an understanding of this God who's calling me into this.

And then God says this in verse 14 and 15. It goes on and says, God said to Moses, I am who I am, which is a way of saying, I exist, therefore I exist. And God said, Say this to the people of Israel, I am has sent me to you — which is a verb. God gets defined by a verb. It's the word "to be." This is the intimate name that God has given himself in Scripture. And he chooses a verb that simply means "to be." This is where God gives his name to the children of Israel, that the children of Israel consider so sacred they often won't utter it. And so when God defines himself here, he says, I am has sent me to you.

By the way, in the Gospel of John, in John chapter eight, verse 58, and John chapter ten, verse 30 — you can find it in other places too — but in John 8:58, when Jesus identifies himself to the children of Israel, he says, Before Abraham was, I am. Jesus takes this name and says this story in Exodus, this is me. And then at the end of John chapter eight, the children of Israel pick up stones to stone him because they see it as blasphemy. They're a monotheistic society, believing in one true God, and this one true God now standing before them — they can't understand how a man could become God, and so they desire to kill Jesus. Jesus takes this title for himself. He is that great I am.

And he goes on in verse 15, God also said to Moses, Say to the people of Israel, the Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. The word "the Lord" is the word Yahweh. So this is where God gives us his particular name, which literally translates as "he is." So rather than Moses show up and they're like, okay, Moses, by what God are you following, or by what authority, Moses? Moses could have said, I am, and that would have been very confusing. So instead he said, he is, right? This is God, Yahweh, the one true God that we follow.

Now when God says this, it's an incredible description of his identity. If I were to say to you this morning, define for me who God is, people would find it challenging to really in a concise way describe who God is. I mean, there have been pages and pages written on describing who God is. But God defines who he is in one word: Yahweh, the I am, the he is, the verb "to be." And what is God saying? Well, God — this is the next blank in your notes — he's acknowledging that he is self-sufficient. God is self-sufficient, meaning he is the uncaused cause of all things. He is not dependent on anything. If you follow a God that was dependent on anything to come into existence, your God is inadequate, right? He will fall short in some way. But what he's saying by saying he is, or the verb "to be," is that God has no beginning or end, that he didn't require time, space, and matter to come into existence.

This is why when we come to ask the question, where did God come from? We can answer that question for you and for me, because we have time, space, and matter to exist in. You had a time you were born, a space you were born in, and you were made by substance, by matter. God is the uncaused cause that transcends it all. He is before time, space, and matter. He calls all of those things to exist. So before there was anything, there is God. You can never answer the question, where did God come from? Because he's not defined by anything. He is. And so it's also teaching us that anything in creation that exists, all creatures are dependent on something to exist. Your life, my life — we're dependent beings for our existence. God is the only being independent of himself for his existence. He is self-sufficient. He depends on nothing. So as he says to Moses, why should you worry? Look at who I am.

He goes on from there in verses 16 and 17. He says, Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, the Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob has appeared to me, saying, I have observed you, and what has been done to you in Egypt. And I promise that I will bring you up out of the afflictions of Egypt, to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, and all the ites. Again, when God is saying this to Moses, he also wants him to know that he is faithful, that he is trustworthy. The promise is given to the children of Israel from the book of Genesis, in Genesis 13, where Moses is told to go outside and look to the north and the south and the west and the east, and God says, all of this will belong to your people. And God is fulfilling in faithfulness his promises. God is a faithful God.

And not only that, let me give you the last point, because I have to close. God is omnipotent. It says in verse 19, But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless compelled by a mighty hand. So I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with the wonders that I will do in it. After that he will let you go.

Let me just stop there, because it goes on to describe that leaving of Egypt. But this particular phrase God uses here is significant because this becomes a phrase that's first used here, but it's continued to be used throughout the rest of Scripture — at least some variation of it — with the mighty hand and an outstretched arm. God says he will deliver him. I want you to know not only that God says this, but why God says this. The reason I think God says this in a practical sense for all of us is that we all have this tendency that we may know who God is, but we surrender our lives to another authority. And if we're being honest, sometimes we revere or bow to that authority more than this God that we might proclaim to follow. Sometimes it might be worry — like, God, if I take this step that I know is honoring to you, what's going to happen to me? Right now, where I'm at feels safe, but where you're calling me feels uncertain. And so for me to be able to do that, God, I've got to really trust who you are. Or maybe God, to really follow you in a public sense — well, God, that gives me fear. And I would rather let fear dictate my life than who you are. But God, if I'm going to follow you, I need to know who you really are.

In Exodus chapter three, to Moses, he says it like this: with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. The reason God chooses to use this specific image for Moses's day — and really it becomes a reflection throughout Scripture, it's used over and over — is because this was an image of how Pharaoh ruled. Pharaoh was often considered a god in the flesh in Egypt, and he was responsible for what they would call during their day Ma, which was the order of peace. Pharaoh was responsible to establish peace. And often these motifs were painted on their walls and their temples where they would rule, of Pharaoh taking his hand over an enemy or a slave, and with his mighty hand he would grab hold of their head, and with his outstretched arm he would take a weapon, as if to demonstrate his dominance over them. And God is saying, for so long you've been afraid. You've lived your life in fear for the last 40 years. You've hidden yourself in the desert because of fear. But you need to understand who I am. I'm greater than Pharaoh. Pharaoh may have these images of his mighty hand and outstretched arm, but I am God. And my mighty hand and outstretched arm has determined what will be. So rather than trust in anything else, the character of who I am determines all things.

When we see the richness of this God, it invites our lives to surrender to his holiness and walk in his calling.

I'm going to close with this. There was a man by the name of Hudson Taylor, who was a missionary in the 1800s in China. Hudson Taylor. It was known of his life that he deeply loved the Lord. In fact, his children would remark of him later in years that in the early morning hours, long before the sun would come up in China, the kids in bed would hear the strike of a match at 2 or 3 in the morning. Hudson Taylor would be lighting a candle, and he would spend those early hours in prayer and reading God's Word. And the children would often say of their father, before the sun would come up in China, Hudson Taylor would be meeting with his God. And why would he do it? Because God had called him to so much more, and he wanted to not forget the God that he followed. And by the end of his life, it's said hundreds of missionaries had moved to China, some 25,000 plus people came to know Jesus. And can I tell you, it was because rather than surrender to anything else in this world that might dictate who he was, he gave his life to the Lord.