Turn with me, if you would, to
Exodus chapter three. Exodus chapter three, I'll give
you a moment to get there. We studied through the book of
Exodus back, it's been a while ago now, and it was so profitable
to us. And I hope and pray that this
morning the Lord would use these feeble words of an unprofitable
servant to again bless your hearts with the truth. Exodus chapter
three, we'll begin in verse one. Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro
his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock
to the backside of the desert and came to the mountain of God,
even to Horeb. And the angel of the Lord appeared
to Moses in a flame out of the midst of a bush. And he looked,
and behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. Though this bush burned, it remained
complete and whole." What a picture that is of the Lord Jesus Christ. Verse three, and Moses said,
I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush
is not burnt. And when the Lord saw that he,
Moses, turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst
of the bush and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, here am I. And he said, draw not hither.
The Lord said, draw not hither. Put off thy shoes from off thy
feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. And moreover, he said, I am the
God of thy 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 upon God. Moses here desired to see how
this bush could be on fire and yet not burn up. He wanted to
know the reason for this strange and amazing sight. You see, Moses
was distracted by this sight and he turned aside to approach
and to gratify and satisfy his curiosity. But it was then that
the Lord called Moses by name. As I read this in my study of
this chapter, I thought to myself, has the Lord called me by name? Has the Lord called you by name?
You see, it's the Lord who calls us. And we praise His name that
He keeps calling us. He keeps showing us our need
of Him. Do you have a need of Christ?
We don't seek the Lord in and of ourselves. He causes us to
seek Him. We seek Him after He's called
us. And the Lord knows everything,
especially His chosen people, and He knows them by name. Isn't
that such a blessed thing? Here the repetition of Moses'
name reveals a couple of things. First, it shows us the familiarity
and the strong affection that the Lord had for Moses. Secondly,
the Lord calls Moses by name, that call always being effectual,
and he stops Moses in his tracks that he may proceed no further."
You see, we cannot see God's face and live. So God allows
us to see him through Jesus Christ. That's who's represented here
by the burning bush. And it was then that Moses said,
here am I, ready to hear and obey your word. It took this
divine intervention and revelation of God in order for Moses to
know who he was dealing with. Do we know who we're dealing
with? This is God Almighty. It's the same with us. While
we would skip right on into hell if God didn't stop us, intervene,
and reveal Christ to us. That's the case with every true
believer. They are ready to hear, and obey the word of the Lord
when God makes them so, and not a second before. The Lord told
Moses, draw not nigh hither, put off thy shoes from off thy
feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. Now, you know, that should be
our first clue to who God is. First and foremost, God is holy. Now in religion today, God is
first and foremost love. He loves everybody too much to
be holy. Men and women in religion today
believe that God's holiness takes a backseat to his love. Why God
loves everyone so much, too much to send anyone to hell. God is
too compassionate to pour out his wrath upon those who hate
his son. Is he? Is he? But religion has it all backwards. Matter of fact, the only people
that God loves are those who love, trust, and believe on his
son. That's the teaching of John 3
16. And it's sad but true. Men and women by nature in the
body, this body of flesh, they don't know God. Not unless God
reveals himself to them. It was the holiness of God that
got Adam and Eve kicked out of the Garden of Eden. It was their
sin and God's holiness. God is too holy to be in the
presence of sin. This is the first time the word
holy is used in the scripture. And where God is, there's holy
ground. You know, Jerusalem is not the
holy land. I know people who saved their
money for years to go to the holy land. They want to walk
on the holy ground that Jesus walked on. Listen, countries,
states, continents are not holy. God is holy. Holy and reverend
is his name. The presence of God in a place
is what makes that place holy. Now, if you're planning a trip
to Jerusalem so that you can walk on holy ground, save your
money and save your time. Nothing holy about the land.
He sent redemption unto his people. He hath commanded his covenant
forever. Holy and reverend is his name. The fear of the Lord is the beginning
of wisdom, and a good understanding have all they that do his commandments. His praise endureth forever. Psalm 111, nine and 10. God is greatly to be feared in
the assembly of the saints and to be have had in reverence of
all them that are about him. Psalm 89, seven. Let them praise
thy great and terrible name, for it is holy. Psalm 99 3. Exalt ye the Lord
our God and worship at his footstool, for he is holy. Psalm 99 5. Exalt
the Lord our God and worship at his holy hill, for the Lord
our God is holy. Psalm 99 9. And all this, my
friends, was a token of God's grace and mercy for Moses and
the people of Israel, for no man nor woman could see God and
live. God did with Moses here in Exodus
chapter three, the same that he did with Moses in Exodus chapter
33, when Moses asked to see his glory. What did God do? He stood. He stood him, placed
him in a place beside him. He placed Moses upon a rock.
Christ is that rock. He put Moses in the cleft or
the cleft of the rock. That's Christ. Our only hope
of seeing God's glory is to be in Christ. God covered Moses
with his hand as he passed by and Moses saw God's back parts. but his face shall not be seen. Why? Because he's too holy. And here in chapter three of
Exodus, Moses stands on holy ground. So God warns him not
to draw a knife either, for you cannot see God in his holiness
and live. And the burning bush not being
consumed symbolized God's holiness and God's power in Christ putting
away of sin. The burning bush symbolizes the
suffering of the Savior, the Lord Jesus, in saving His people
from their sin. It revealed that Christ would
suffer the wrath of God for us without being Himself consumed. And friends, he finished the
work, and God accepted his work, and we are accepted in him. That is the gospel. It was here
that God gave Moses his personal name. I am the ever-present one,
the self-sufficient one, the all-sufficient one. Notice in
verse six, God says, I am the God of thy 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 upon God. Oh, if you ever
see God in his true holiness, you too will hide your face. The God who was, the God who
is, and the God who will always be is who He is. This is the
effect that the holiness and majesty of God has on an enlightened
sinner. They hide their face and are
afraid. This is the effect of God's holiness
and majesty and almighty omnipotence and sovereignty. It's the effect
it has on the believing sinner. Look down at verse 11, and Moses
said unto God, who am I that I should go unto Pharaoh and
that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt? And he said, certainly I will
be with thee. God said this. Now listen to
these words. God said, certainly I will be
with thee. And this shall be a token unto
thee that I have sent you. I've sent thee. When thou has
brought forth the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God
upon this mountain. God never talks possibilities. Verse 13, and God said, and Moses
said unto God, excuse me, but behold, when I come unto the
children of Israel and say unto them, the God of your fathers
has sent me unto you, and they shall say to me, what is his
name? What shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I am
that I am. And he said, thus shalt thou
say unto the children of Israel, I am, hath sent me unto you. And God said, moreover unto Moses. Thus shalt thou say unto the
children of Israel, the Lord God of your fathers, the God
of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent
me unto you, and this is my name forever, and this is my memorial
unto all generations." And it's here that we're given the second
characteristic and attribute of God, that being the omniscience
of God. He knows everything. Verse seven,
and the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people,
which are in Egypt, and I've heard their cry by reason of
their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. God knows everything. Nothing ever takes God by surprise.
That is why sovereign God needs no backup plans. He knows everything. He purposes everything. He brings everything about. Thirdly, we immediately see God's
omnipotence, God's almighty sovereign power. Look at verse eight. And
I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians,
and to bring them up out of the, into that land of good land and
large, and to a land flowing with milk and honey, and to the
place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites,
and the Perizzites, and the Hittites, and the Jebusites. Now therefore,
behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come unto me, and
I have also seen, I've known, I know the oppression wherewith
the Egyptians oppressed them. And again, I say, God sees all
and God knows all. We're in good hands, friends,
with the Lord God. Verse 10, come now therefore
and I will send thee into Pharaoh that thou mayest bring forth
my people, the children of Israel out of Egypt. Now I'd have you
notice, God did not tell Moses he came down to try to deliver
Israel out of the Egyptians hand. God did not say that he wanted
to deliver Israel if Moses would just help him. Now Moses, if
you'll give me a hand here, I believe we can get this done. No, that's
not what he said. God did not say that he was going
to deliver Israel if Pharaoh would let him or if Israel would
allow him. That's just ridiculous. Yet that
is exactly what worldly religion is preaching today. So we must
be clear on the facts here. God said, I am come down to deliver
them. to deliver out of the hands of
the Egyptians. God said, matter of factly, I
came down to bring them up, to bring them up out of the land
of bondage and slavery to a good and large land that flowed with
milk and honey. But also notice that it was a
place where all Israel's enemies dwelt, and they're God's enemies
too. In verse eight, God is specific as to the place He'll bring them.
It's into the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites,
and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites. You know what
this is telling us? God is gonna remove all our enemies. Every single one of them. You see, our enemies are God's
enemies. And isn't that the gospel? Christ,
our God and Savior, is gonna do for us what we cannot do for
ourselves. There, I said it again. That's
what God does, what we cannot do. What is he gonna do for us? Everything. He's gonna do everything
for us. He's gonna deliver us out of
our bondage. He's gonna defeat all of our
enemies, all of them. He's gonna give us a land that
flows with sweetness. He's not wanting, he's not trying. No one has to let him. It's the
telltale sign that one who believes that God needs once and is trying
don't know God. When I hear a man declare that
God wants, God desires, and God is trying to make or get you
to be this or that or do this or that, it's not just a misuse
of words, friends. It's a denial of who God is. He is the I am that was, the
I am that is, and the I am that shall be, always, presently,
and forever God. always in control, large and
in charge. He's the Lord that changes not. Therefore, this is why ye sons
of Jacob are not consumed. We're not consumed because of
something we do. We're not consumed because God
is God and he doesn't change. Isaiah chapter 41 verses 13 and
14 reads, for I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand.
saying unto thee, fear not, I will help thee. Fear not, thou worm
Jacob and you men of Israel, I will help thee. Saith the Lord
and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. You know, when I used
to get into projects and things that were over my head, I'd call
my dad who could do just about anything. And when I heard his
words and said, I'll help you, son, I knew it was gonna be all
right. How much more so that is true
with God as our Father. Isaiah 42, 5 declares, thus saith
God the Lord. He that created the heavens and
stretched them out. He that spread forth the earth
and that which cometh out of it. He that giveth breath unto
the people upon it and spirit to them that walk therein. I,
the Lord, have called thee in righteousness and will hold thy
hand and will keep thee and give thee for a covenant of the people
for a light of the Gentiles to open the blind eyes, to bring
out the prisoners from the prison and them that sit in darkness
out of the prison house. I am the Lord. That is my name and my glory. will I not give to another, neither
my praise to graven images." Friends, this is the God that
helps us, not one who needs our help. Isaiah 43, verse 11, I,
even I am the Lord, and beside me there's no savior. I have
declared and have saved and have showed when there was no strange
God among you. Therefore ye are my witnesses,
saith the Lord, that I am God. Isaiah 44, verse six, thus saith
the Lord, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, the Lord of
hosts, I am the first and I am the last, and beside me there
is no God. Listen to Jeremiah 32, 27. I
want you to see this from the scriptures. Behold, I am the
Lord, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for
me? In Hebrews 6, 18, that by two
immutable, unchanging things in which it was impossible for
God to lie, we might have a strong consolation who have fled for
refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us. Friends, the Lord
Jesus Christ, Christ in us is the hope of glory. There's no
hope apart from Him. And the Lord is the same Lord
who created all things out of nothing. You see, nothing has
changed. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Where does every good and perfect
gift come from? You know, from above. It cometh
down from the Father of lights with whom is no variableness,
neither shadow of turning. God cannot change. He would cease
to be God. It was of His own will that He
beget us with the Word of Truth, not our will. Take your will
and throw it out the window, that we should be a kind of firstfruits
of His creatures, not our will, but His will. Folks had this
thing backwards. Religions got it backwards. They
didn't start with His holiness. They didn't start with His omniscience.
They didn't start with His omnipotence. They started with themselves.
They thought that God was altogether as such a one as themselves. But when it comes to His people,
God is going to reprove them. God is going to set things in
order before their eyes. Here in our text, again in Exodus
3, God told Moses in verse 16, to gather the elders of Israel
together and say to them that the God of Abraham, of Isaac,
and of Jacob appeared unto them. Now listen to what God said.
God said, I have surely visited you. Did you notice that word
visited is in the past tense? God says, I see what's being
done unto you. When had God visited them before
the foundation of the world? And this proves that He is, I
am, self-existent, self-sufficient, without beginning, without end,
from everlasting to everlasting. You see, only God can say, I
am that I am. God's name reveals who He is.
But you might say, well, Israel is still in bondage. They're
still under the rule of Pharaoh. They were still making bricks.
What had God's visit done for them? Do you ever ask yourself
that question? What has God's visit done for
me? What has God's visit done for
you? Well, I can answer that with one verse of scripture.
Romans 8, 29. For whom he did foreknow, whom
God foreknew, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image
of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Friends, if God visited you in
election and His choosing from the foundation of the world,
that He predestinated, He predetermined, He determined beforehand. that
you would be conformed perfectly to the image of Christ. You see,
what God predetermines, predestinates, and promises beforehand will
always come to pass. Before you were ever born, God
chose to visit you. He chose to visit you in election.
He chose to visit you in mercy and in grace. He determined to
give you to Christ. He determined to conform you
to Christ's image, and you'll be conformed. God determined
to call you just as he called Moses and just as he calls Israel. God chose to justify you, to
make you just. God determined to deliver you
out of your slavery and bondage of sin. God predetermined to
glorify us, to make us glorified. Again, past tense. Are we glorified
yet? Well, I'm not in my eyes, but
in God's eyes I am. According to God's Word, I'm
already these things in Christ. God had visited Israel and Egypt,
and God has visited us in this world. I've been predestinated. I don't know how predestinated
looks, but I know that I was. And I've been called. Can you
look at me and tell that I've been called? No, but I have. I've been justified. Do I look
and I justify? I don't know what justified looks
like. But that is what I am in Christ.
In Christ, I am all these things, and so are you if you profess
and trust in Christ to put away your sin. You see, faith is believing
what we can't see. Faith is evidence of things hoped
for. If God says, I have surely visited
you, then you can definitely believe that he has. when God
told Abraham that his seed would be more in number than the stars
of the sky. God didn't have the first child
yet. Yet we're told that Abraham believed
God and it was counted to him for righteousness. What did Abraham
believe? He believed that his seed would
be as many as the stars in the sky, even though he was childless. Do we believe God? That's my
question to you. Do you believe God? Do I believe
God? Lord, help our unbelief. God tells us in his word, I have
surely visited you. He did so long before I ever
professed him as Lord. God is the one who can successfully
call those things that be not as though they were, Romans 4
17. You see, that's who God is. That's what God does. His power,
His will, His purpose are effectual. His command cannot be resisted. Look at verse 18, I'll begin
to finish up. And they shall hearken to thy
voice, and thou shalt come. Thou and all the elders of Israel,
and to the king of Egypt, and you shall say unto him, the Lord
God of the Hebrews hath met with us. Now let us go. We beseech
thee three days journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice
to the Lord our God. And notice what God says in verse
19, and I am sure that the King of Egypt will not let you go. No, not by a mighty hand, or
saying not but by a mighty hand. If you look over a couple pages
to Exodus chapter five, verse two, as you know, at first Pharaoh
said, well, who is the Lord that I should obey his voice to let
Israel go? I know not the Lord, neither
will I let Israel go. Is that right? Yes, Pharaoh at
first refused and rejected the command of the Lord, but in the
end, even the mighty Pharaoh bowed to the will and purpose
of God Almighty. And this is why Paul tells us,
Romans 9, 17, for the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, even for
this same purpose have I raised thee up that I might show forth
my power in thee. and that my name might be declared
throughout all the earth. And even though this religious
world rejects and denies it, Paul adds in verse 18 of Romans
nine, therefore hath he mercy on whom he'll have mercy and
whom he will, he hardened. Sounds to me like God saves whom
he wills, not who wills for him to save them. May God enable
us to understand that Pharaoh's hardening was at first his own
act. Five times it said of him that
he himself hardened his heart. Exodus 7.13, 7.22, chapter eight,
verse 15, chapter eight, verse 32, and Exodus chapter nine,
verse seven. And then Exodus chapter nine, verse 12, it is
said that God hardened him. And even after that, in Exodus
9, 34, it is said that Pharaoh hardened himself. Now listen,
Pharaoh closed his heart to God's appeals. He grew harder and more
in stubborn resistance. And then under God's judgments,
he was delivered to wrath by God. God wills to harden those
who harden themselves. There are things concerning God
we don't understand, friends, that we must simply believe.
Again, faith is believing. It's not understanding everything
about God, but believing everything that God says about Himself. Oh, the depth of the riches,
both of the wisdom and knowledge of God. How unsearchable are
His judgments and His ways past finding out. For who hath known
the mind of the Lord? Or who hath been his counselor? Or who hath first given to him?
And it shall be recompensed unto him again. Well, I love the Lord
and the Lord loved me. No, we love him because he first
loved us. He first hath given to us. For
of him and through him and to him are all things to whom be
glory forever. Amen. Romans 11, 33 through 36. So how does Exodus chapter three
end? The same way the believer story
ends. Verse 20, God said, and I will
stretch out my hand and smite Egypt with all my wonders, which
I will do, not try to do, not want to do, not need you to let
me do, but I will do in the midst thereof and after that He will
let you go. Who does the stretching out of
the hand? Was it Israel? Is it you? Is it me? No, it's
God who stretches out His hand, smites and delivers. Verse 21,
and I'll give this people favor. Oh, unmerited favor. That's what
grace is. I'll give these people, my people,
favor in the sight of the Egyptians. And it shall come to pass that
when you go, you shall not go empty." Did Israel find favor
in the Egyptians? Did God want to show Israel favor? Did Israel... have to let God
do it? No. God showed them favor. It was God who saw to it that
they didn't go out empty. And friends, God has not changed.
He's still the one who sees to these things. We will not We
will not go out of this world nor be destitute of what is necessary
in this world while we're here. We have, and we will leave this
life with great substance, that being the Lord Jesus Christ. If we have Him, we have everything. If we have Jesus Christ, we have
everything. Verse 22, but every woman shall
borrow, ask of her neighbor and of her that sojourneth in her
house, jewels of silver and jewels of gold and raiment, and you
shall put them upon your sons and upon your daughters, and
you shall spoil the Egyptians. It wasn't the Egyptians that
provided these things. It was God who provided them
through the Egyptians. God gonna give you everything
you need in this world and in the world to come. Paul tells
us in Philippians chapter four, verses 19 and 20, that in Christ,
all our need, singular, Christ, is provided. Everything is in
Christ and more. Christ shall supply all our need. How? He tells us according to
His, God's riches and glory. How? By Christ Jesus. The Lord Jesus is the most prized
possession that any of us have. Now unto God and our Father be
glory forever and ever. Amen.