Title: God of Thorough Training / Exodus 3
God who thoroughly trains you (Text: Exodus 3:-)
Moses became a shepherd of the flocks of his father-in-law Jethro, a priest of Midian. When he went through the wilderness with his flock to Horeb, the mountain of God, there an angel of the Lord appeared to him with a blazing flame in the midst of a bush. Moses looked and saw that the bush was on fire, but the bush was not burning up. Moses was so amazed that he drew near. God saw Moses coming and called him out of the bush.
“Moses, Moses”
“Yes, I am here.”
God said.
“Do not come near here. The place where you are standing is holy ground, so take off your sandals. I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”
Moses hid his face because he was afraid to see God. The Lord has spoken again.
“I have clearly seen the suffering of my people in Egypt, and I have heard the cry of anguish from oppression. Therefore, I know their suffering clearly. Now I will go down and rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians, and I will bring them from this land to that beautiful and spacious land, flowing with milk and honey, to the dwelling place of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. do. I still hear the cry of the children of Israel. It is also seen that the Egyptians abused them. Now I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”
Moses said to God.
“How dare I go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?”
God answered.
“I will be with you. It will be a sign that I have sent you when you worship God on this mountain after I have brought this people out of Egypt.”
Here we can learn some important lessons.
First, the fact that God works among the bushes.
Here, the bush refers to ‘Moses himself,’ an old and ordinary shepherd. We are like bushes, but God wants to speak in and through that person.
“God said in the midst of the bush…” (Exodus 3:4)
In this way, God wants to work through me, who is like a bush. Sometimes we mistakenly think that we have to become a great person to be used by God. But God wants to use a man of self like a bush to the extent that without Him he would be considered worthless. The self of Moses had become the “self of a bush” while shepherding the father-in-law's sheep for 40 years. The God of perseverance broke Moses through the ‘wilderness school’ for 40 years until he became the self of a bush. Shall we take a look at the curriculum of 40 Years of Wilderness School?
In the first lesson, he instilled a spirit of stewardship by having Moses tend the sheep of Jethro his father-in-law. (Ex 3:1) Moses himself had no sheep. Here he acquired thorough stewardship. There is nothing mine in our life either. We must confess the Lordship (sovereignty) of God every day. Surprisingly, the word “Lord” appears 290 times in the New Testament alone. Please confess accordingly.
“My Lord, my God, I have nothing. Money, authority, honor, education, home or lands, sons or daughters, everything belongs to God. I also confess that my eyes, my hands, my feet, my lips, my heart, my whole body, and my will are all of God. Please use all of this for the glory of God.”
In the next subject, you can live a faithful life through the repeated shepherd's routine. Loyalty is what is sought in those entrusted with it, and those who are faithful in the little things will also be faithful in the great things. How are we? We are detached from appearance, number, size, environment, material, etc., and whatever we do, we must do it as faithfully as we do to the Lord.
“Who will be the faithful and wise servant, who will give the master over the people of his household, distributing food in due season? Blessed is the servant when his master comes and sees him doing so” (Matthew 24:45,46).
Second, Moses experienced a personal God.
In Exodus 3:7-10, God's personal parts intellect, emotion, and will are specifically shown.
1) God is the One who sees.
2) God is a ‘hearer’.
3) God is “knowledgeable”.
4) God is the One who came down.
5) God is the one who leads.
This personal God showed the image of “in the bush...” (Exodus 3:4), saying, “I will work in you and through you.” The Comforter, the Holy Spirit, is with me in me and says this now.
“I will see, hear, know, be with you, and guide you through you. i want to use you From now on, I will go through the suffering of the people with you. And I want to lead them.”
Third, Moses knew his identity.
“Who am I?” (Exodus 3:11) asked God about his identity. At that time, God answered, “Surely I will be with you.” He made us discover our identity in God.
Who is God with Moses? I AM THAT I AM I AM THAT I AM. Who is Moses? God said, “I am sending you,” confirming that Moses was in the position of “a servant of the Most High God.” Moses was called as God's special and plenipotentiary ambassador. Like Moses, we must realize the position of a servant who cannot explain the value of existence or the reason for life without the Most High God.
If you have a proud heart while serving the Lord or, on the other hand, you often feel that you are falling into a stagnation, you should know that your ego is still alive and wriggling as a master. The self-dead person gives all the glory to the Most High God and does not dwell on the consequences. We are the people who are detached from the results of our service! We must become people who are conscious of only God. We should fear the Father because we give all glory to our Heavenly Father every day. Let's pray together.