Exodus 3:1-10
How does God get our attention?
Does God hear our prayers?
How do we know when God is speaking to us?
What is our response when God calls?
How do we know when we are in God’s presence?
Have you ever asked any of these questions?
Today we are going to answer these questions as we look
at Exodus 3:1-10
Last week we talked about how we can prepare to hear
from God.
I mentioned 5 ways to help get ready to hear from God.
Be Still
Be Present
Be Expectant
Be Obedient
Be Faithful
This morning we are going to see how God spoke to
Moses and how Moses responded to God’s calling to the
ministry.
Let’s ask God to speak to us this morning as only He can.
Exodus 3:1-4
How does God get our Attention?
God used a burning bush to capture Moses’ attention.
He was minding his own business, tending his father in
law’s flock when he saw a great sight and went over to
investigate. The bush was on fire, but it wasn’t burning
up. I doubt Moses knew that he was about to experience
God as he walked over to that bush.
It’s like that in our lives too.
We are content with how things are going and then BAM!
God does something to get our attention.
Maybe we have a health issue that slows us down, maybe
we lose a loved one, maybe we get a pink slip from our
job, maybe a relationship deteriorates.
When God wants our attention, He is going to get it.
We need to stop thinking about things as being random
and realize that God is always at work and He will use all
types of ways to get us to listen to Him.
Back to Moses.
For context we need to read Exodus 2:23-25.
“During those many days the king of Egypt died,
and the people of Israel groaned because of their
slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue
from slavery came up to God. And God heard their
groaning, and God remembered his covenant with
Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw the
people of Israel – and God knew.” Exodus 2:23-25
This brings up the next question:
Does God hear our prayers?
We know the answer, of course, is yes.
However, we must also understand that God often uses
people to answer prayers.
Are you familiar with George Mueller? He is well known
for running orphanages in England. He never asked
anyone for money or food, he only prayed. And God
provided through people time and time again. Every need
he had he prayed and God always provided right on time.
God answered the prayers of Israel by calling Moses to
lead them out of Egypt. We will see that explained in
verses 7-10.
How do we know when God is speaking to us?
When God had Moses’ attention, He called Moses by
name. He spoke it twice for emphasis.
We see this elsewhere in the Bible.
God called several people by name twice:
Abraham, Samuel, Martha, Simon, Saul
The point is that God is a personal God.
He knows our name, because He created us.
He knew us before we were even knit together in our
mother’s womb.
So, when He speaks, we should know His voice.
Jesus said He was the good shepherd.
“To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his
voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and
leads them out.” John 10:3
We need to get comfortable hearing God’s voice so we
can obey it when He speaks to us.
What is our response when God calls?
Moses responded “Here I am”
It’s almost the same thing Isaiah said when the Lord
asked whom shall I send?
Isaiah responded, Here I am! Send me.
This is the only proper response to God calling us.
There is no situation that we should ever say No Lord.
What we will discover however is that Moses has a few
reservations. Before we get to those, let’s talk look at
the next verse
Exodus 3:5
Many people ask the question, was this an angel or God?
Most people believe this is a theophany, which means the
physical presence of God.
How do we know when we are in God’s presence?
God told Moses to take off his sandals because he was
standing on holy ground. This is the first time we see the
word holy in the Bible. It was holy because God was
there. In many cultures removing your shoes is a sign of
respect.
Holy means set apart or distinct.
Believers don’t have to wonder if we are in God’s
presence or not because He is present in our bodies
through the Holy Spirit.
We also know that God is present everywhere. There is
no place we can flee from His presence. He is always
near.
So, why do we act like He is not near sometimes?
I would have to say because of our sinful nature.
Sin separates us from God and we need to repent of our
sin often and stay in fellowship with Him.
I’m not saying we can lose our salvation, just that our sin
should grieve us and we should ask for His forgiveness
frequently.
Exodus 3:6-10
I want to answer the question:
How do we respond when God calls us?
God tells Moses who He is in verse 6.
Humility and reverence
Notice his response. He hid his face because he was
afraid to look at God.
Keep in mind, Moses is really meeting God for the first
time here, but notice his reverence towards God.
Much later in Exodus we see Moses become more bold in
God’s presence, asking to see His glory.
We can also reconsider the question: does God hear
our prayers?
Notice God’s response.
I have surely seen the affliction of my people… v.7
And have heard their cry… v.7
I know their suffering… v.7
I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the
Egyptians…v.8
And to bring them…to a good and broad land, a land
flowing with milk and honey… v.8
Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my
people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt… v.10
God heard the prayer of Israel and then He called Moses
to be the one to lead them out of Egypt.
Could God be calling you to lead one of His children out
of the bondage of sin? He may want you to be a part of
His plan of redemption just like Moses did for Israel.
For our application this morning I want to focus on one
question.
APPLICATION
How do you know when you have heard the Lord
speaking to you?
My prayer is that you know His voice and you are being
still and abiding in Him so you can hear Him more clearly.
Hearing God’s voice is personal. He knows you and wants
to talk with you and guide you.
He may not speak audibly to us, but He speaks through
prayer, through the preaching of the word, through the
Bible. Let’s work on knowing and obeying the Lord’s
voice.