Title Take off your shoes
Contents
Worship on the 24th of Lent>> ----> Tuesday
Title: Take off your shoes
Bible: Exodus 3:1-12
Quiet Prayer: Together
Hymn: 85
Representative prayer: holistic prayer
Starting Point of the Word>>
Today, through the sermon of the text, we will share a sermon with the title “Take off your shoes.
In today's text, there is a recorded scene where God heard the cry of Israel as slaves in Egypt and called Moses to save them.
If we look at verse 4 of the text,
"And when the Lord saw that he had turned to see, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said,
Says.
The word Jehovah means self-existent and eternal one.
God, who exists now and has eternity, calls Moses.
And tell him to take off your shoes, because the place where you are standing is holy.
I hope you will discover the God who calls us through today's Word.
Go to Word>>
Then, first, let's look at the appearance of God who called Moses.
First, we discover God who is present in the bush.
A bush is a worthless tree, a useless tree.
A bush is a tree that grows on its own in the desert or wilderness.
But now, God is present in the bush and is calling Moses.
It has the same meaning as appearing to us who are destined to die because of our sins in this world, we who are worthless, and who are worthless.
However, one thing we need to realize is that the place where God is present is transformed into a holy land, no matter what the place is.
Why?
Whether a place becomes holy or not depends on what kind of beings stay there.
God is holy.
He created the world with the word and is the one who rules the universe.
If we look at the words of Genesis 28,
After Jacob, the second son of Isaac, steals the blessing of his eldest son, he flees to his uncle's house, avoiding his father and his brother Esau.
Jacob is a liar and a deceiver.
Then, while he was running away, he met a holy God.
The night he ran away, God appeared to him and promised him a blessing and said that he would be with him.
According to Genesis 28:16,
"Jacob awoke from sleep and said, Surely the LORD is here, and I did not know it."
This is the experience of Bethel that Jacob experienced.
So, Jacob named the land where he experienced the encounter with God ‘Bethel’, which means “house of God.”
In this way, the place where God's presence exists and where we meet with God are all holy places.
Example>>
There is a book called 'The Law of the Red Sea' by Robert Morgan.
In that book, the author says, "Experiencing God's presence in times of trial is more blessed than getting out of it. There is nothing sweeter in the world than experiencing God's presence in moments of intense trial."
Moses is now welcoming the Lord's presence in front of the thorny tree on Mount Horeb.
Also today, the God who was present in the thorn tree of Mount Horeb is present here, calling me and you, and wants to meet with us.
We need to listen to the voice of God who speaks to us face-to-face at this moment.
Like Jacob, I must be able to confess that Jehovah is with me.
Second, God saw Moses returning and called him.
When some amazing event unfolds before our eyes, we want to go a little farther to see it.
Today Moses goes out to see the flame that appears among the bushes.
And God, who is in the flame, sees Moses coming to see the flame.
The word “see” is raah in Hebrew.
This does not mean that we see simply because we can see it.
This word has a more active meaning, 'to observe', 'to pay close attention'.
Moses must have had a surprising and curious mind first because the bush was on fire.
So he is approaching the bush with deep attention in an observing position.
It was then that God called Moses.
A leader must watch closely, without scrutinizing or shedding anything.
Now, God is watching the qualities of a leader through the actions of Moses.
Now, God is watching Moses approaching to see the reality of Him.
The phrase “he saw” means that God saw as Moses came to see.
Both words are the same word.
God and Moses are approaching each other with intensive observation.
At this time, God calls Moses.
"Moses, Moses". It is God's urgency and concern that God called Moses twice.
Now, God did not call Moses for nothing, but to give him a calling.
We must be able to hear the voice of God's calling.
According to Philippians 3:14,
“I am pursuing the reward of the high calling of God.”
The apostle Paul confesses.
But Moses does not yet know the reality of God.
Even when we do not know God, God knows us intimately.
Moses does not know God's name, but God knows Moses' name.
God knows us beforehand.
According to Romans 8:29,
“In order that those whom God foreknew may also be conformed to the image of His Son.”
Also, in Romans 11:2,
“God has not forsaken his people whom he foreknew.”
It is said.
When God, foreknowledge, calls Moses, Moses replies, "Here I am."
God is pleased with those who answer, “Here I am,” when He calls.
And God seeks and calls such people.
Third, God tells us to take off our shoes without getting close to them.
God said that the place where Moses was standing was a holy place.
And he tells us not to draw near to God.
A sinful man cannot draw near to God.
After Adam and Eve sinned in Eden, human beings have become inaccessible to God.
So God kicked the people out of the garden, and surrounded them with a flaming sword, forbidding their approach.
Because of this, man could not draw near to God.
But Jesus came to this earth and took up the cross to make us one with God.
Jesus broke down the barrier between God and man.
The place where God dwells is holy and set apart.
Moses was not yet ready to approach God's place.
According to Exodus 19:12,
“You set the boundaries for the people on all sides, saying, ‘Be careful not to climb the mountain or cross the boundary, for anyone who violates the mountain will surely be put to death.”
Says
Because the place of God's presence is a holy place, God told Moses to take off his sandals.
Why do I have to take off my shoes?
Because God is worthy to be glorified and exalted, it is right to take off his sandals before him.
The Bible tells us several times when we have to take off our shoes.
In Joshua 5:15, Joshua hears the command to take off his sandals in Jericho.
"The commander of the army of the LORD said to Joshua, "Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you stand is holy, and Joshua did so."
The word ‘god’ in this verse refers to the attributes of a human being who has been defiled by living in the world.
In the presence of a holy God, we must cast off all the human attributes that have been polluted by sin.
In Deuteronomy 25:9,
"And his brother's wife will come to him before the elders, remove her sandals from his feet, and spit in his face, saying, 'This is what he will do to him who does not delight in building his brother's house."
It is said.
God in Deuteronomy denotes status and rights.
To ‘take off your shoes’ means to give up your status.
In Ruth 4:7-8
“In ancient times, in Israel, a man took off his sandals and gave them to his neighbor to make sure that they were to be exchanged. And this became the customary tradition for Israel. So the one who gave the inheritance said to Boaz, “Buy for you.” And he took off his sandals. "
It is said.
To take off one's shoes means to yield or surrender one's right.
Moses took off his sandals before God.
While living in the world, he stripped away his sinful attributes, gave up his position, and entrusted his rights to God.
Moses showed an attitude of complete submission to God.
It's not about what you put on, it's more about what you take off.
Muslims take off their shoes when entering their synagogue, a mosque.
The Samaritans take off their sandals when they climb Mount Gerizim.
Indians take off their shoes at Gandhi's tomb.
They show awe and respect when they meet their gods and people they admire.
When we come before God, we must take off our sandals.
At the end of the speech>>
A drunken man took a taxi. As soon as you get into the taxi, you start taking off your clothes.
The taxi driver said, "Sir, why are you taking your clothes off? Are you wearing them?" The drunkard said, "Oh, isn't this our house?"
"This isn't your house, it's in a taxi." And the drunkard said, "Then tell me earlier, I took off my shoes when I came in knowing it was our room."
We should not have the habit of taking off our shoes everywhere, but we should have a religious attitude to always take off our shoes in the presence of the holy God.
I hope you always cast off the attributes of dirty sin before God.
We must become saints who can be thrown off at any time in the presence of God.
We must cast off our bad old habits, our defiled humanity, our rights, and our poor status at any time, and become saints who can stand in the holy place of God.
In the name of the Lord, I pray in the name of the Lord that you and the saints will take off our dirty shoes we are wearing at this time in front of the cross and go toward the resurrection in the presence of the Holy God.
United Prayer>>
We give thanks and praise to God the Father who is our joy and hope.
Thank you for not leaving us slaves to sin, but for cleansing us through the blood of Christ on the cross.
Let us have the heart of the Lord in our hearts, so that we do not live according to the lusts of the flesh,
Grant me the faith and grace to live the beautiful influence of Christ in the world.
Grant me the grace of bold faith and strength, so that I can become a saint who carries the cross of the Lord in our place in this age, and a life that gives joy to the person who does not hurt the Lord's heart again.
For the kingdom of God, the church, the saints, my neighbors, my brothers, and my family, help me to understand the vocation I have to live, and grant me great power to live a life that reveals the glory of God wherever I am.
Even now, we pray in the name of Jesus, who wants to accomplish God's great work through us. Amen
The Lord's Prayer: Together