The God Who Is - Exodus 3:11-22

Okay, good morning the fall is here the the colors are in full display outside that means Thanksgiving is coming as well and This is one of the more special times for me is this time in this season. Some people like the spring.

I kind of like the fall myself when it's the air is getting crisp. And it's you know, you got to put a jacket on and it's just it's a special time. So For announcements not much in the way. There's a lot of families some families that are way out of state.

So you can be prayed for them. Thursday is Thanksgiving and Next Saturday normal men's Bible study. We're gonna we're gonna cancel that one because of the long weekend and people are away and so on. So no men no Bible study Saturday.

So take note of that and because if you come you'll be here alone with a locked door and you don't want that so Keep that in mind. And I think that's it for announcements in anticipation of Thanksgiving day that I take and draw your attention to that.

Sometimes we get these bulletins at the front and we bring them in and then we put them in our Bible and we kind of forget about them. There's a nice article on the back. It's called Thanks living. By pastor out of Princeton, Indiana.

So it was a good read. I read it briefly this morning. And I'm preparing our hearts as a Christian as believers. This is it's it's not that hard. It's not hard for us to be thankful. It shouldn't be because that's the essence of acknowledging the sacrifice that Christ made for us and It's the world that I think has a distorted Idea of what Thanksgiving is and this is an opportunity for us to be an example of what true Thanksgiving is.

I was reading article and said, how can we thank God in a way that increases our joy in God? And because It's an act of seeing and praising. God is an act of seeing and praising. God is Thanksgiving's greatest joy and It really is is to see God for who he is and what he's done for us.

And they kind of broke it down into four steps. He says first. Do you need to how do we do that? Asked for the Spirit's help. Second is to ponder the values of God's gift. Consider the value of each gift.

Think about health friends food and the food in front of you. Think especially about the Savior whose death paid for your sins and purchased fullness of joy in him forever. Third think about the mercy of God's gifts.

Not only do we deserve these gifts not deserve these gifts, but because of our sin. All we deserve is God's judgment but we have Mercy that's displayed in the blood pocket of Jesus Christ and forth was expressed your Thanksgiving and joyful praise to God thank him for his gifts expressing the worth of each gift and the mercy of each gift and Rejoice in how each gift displays the glory of God's grace to you in Christ.

We can all do that so let's think about Thanksgiving with purposefully. And and specifically giving praise to our God and enjoy the day with family obviously most of us enjoy so. Would you please join me in prayer?

Lord God, we thank you father that we have so much to be thankful for that. You have given us much but the ultimate gift is most Majestic and mighty gift is the son your son Jesus Christ died for our sins.

We are not deserving father to come before a holy God Through Jesus Christ that we can approach the throne of grace. Thank you father that we can do that God. We ask that you would bless our service today that you would Help us to see you in a light that Just magnifies your glory and majesty because you are so worthy of our praise God open our eyes and our minds and our hearts to be receptive to the word that we hear to the truths that are spoken.

And that you might have joy through it all. Because you are worthy of our praise father. So we thank you today bless those that are out of state and away traveling give them travel mercies we pray father bless their time together and May we rejoice may you be pleased father with our offerings to you today.

We ask these things in Jesus name. Amen.

Psalm 8 and Thanksgiving Praise

Our scripture for this morning is Psalms chapter 8. Psalms chapter 8. Pastor covered this a couple of weeks back and it's was a real blessing in our Sunday school hour. Oh Lord our Lord how excellent is your name in all the earth who have set your glory above the heavens.

Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants. You have ordained strength because of your enemies that you may silence the enemy and the Avenger. When I consider your heavens the work of your fingers the moon and the stars which you have ordained.

What is man that you are mindful of him and the son of man that you visit him? For you have made him a little lower than the angels and you have crowned him with glory and honor. You have made him to have dominion over the works of your hands.

You have put all things under his feet all sheep and oxen. Even the beasts of the field the birds of the air and the fish of the sea that pass through the paths of the sea.

Oh.

Lord our Lord how excellent is your name in all the earth?

Amen.

I'll give thanks to the Lord for he is good for his steadfast love and yours forever and Let's sing together. Please stand for great is thy faithfulness.

The God Who Is: Exodus 3 and the Name of God

Please turn with me to. Exodus chapter 3 verses 11 through 22. Exodus chapter 3 verses 11 through 22. But Moses said to God Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt so he said I Will certainly be with you and this shall be a sign to you that I have sent you.

When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain. Then Moses said to God indeed When I come to the children of Israel and say to them the God of your fathers has sent me to you.

And they say to me, what is his name? What shall I say to them? And God said to Moses I am Who I am and he said thus you shall say to the children of Israel. I am has sent me to you. Moreover, God said to Moses thus You shall say to the children of Israel the Lord God of your fathers The God of Abraham the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob has sent me to you.

This is my name forever. And this is my memorial to all generations. Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them the Lord God of your fathers the God of Abraham of Isaac and of Jacob appeared to me saying I have surely visited you and seen what is done to you in Egypt and I have said I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites to a land flowing with milk and honey.

Then they will heed your voice and you shall come you and the elders of Israel to the king of Egypt and you shall say To them the Lord God of the Hebrews has met with us and now please let us go three days journey into the wilderness.

That we may sacrifice to the Lord our God. But I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go. No, not even by a mighty hand so I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all my wonders and I will do in its midst and After that, he will let you go and I will give this people Favor in the sight of the Egyptians and it shall be when you go that you shall not go empty-handed.

But every woman shall ask of her neighbor namely of her who dwells near her house. Articles of silver articles of gold and clothing and you shall put them on your sons and on your daughters. So you shall plunder the Egyptians.

This is the word of the Lord.

Let us pray.

Father we are so thankful that you are The God who is and there's no one like you and you exist because you are God who is and we Only depend on you and you don't depend on us. Father we pray that you would reveal to us who you are So that we may have a correct.

Amen. When Moses Responds to God's command to deliver his people out of Egypt God Graciously reveals his name to Moses. This is one of the most astounding passages in the Bible because God directly answers the question What kind of God delivers his people?

We're not getting this out of an action of narration, but God himself answers who he is. This is important today because we often forget what kind of God we worship. We forget what kind of God Saved us and we're tempted to believe lies about God.

We often tell her tell ourselves when we're going through trials. Oh God has abandoned me or God did not plan this God could not have known this God does not care about me. All of these thoughts go into our minds when things go wrongly.

However, this passage tells us that's not who God is. God tells us that that's not who God is. The question this text Answers this morning is what kind of God?

Delivers us.

Who is he. My first point is that despite our inadequacy God is present in our deliverance. Despite our inadequacy God is present in our deliverance. So when God commands Moses to go back to his people and bring them out Moses admits his inadequacy.

What am I. That I should go to Pharaoh and that I should bring the people of Israel out of Egypt. Moses knows he is not capable after all he ended up in the land of the Midianites precisely because his people rejected him and The last Pharaoh tried to kill him for it.

This is a sign of humility. Okay, he has a correct view of himself. He has a correct view of his own capability and his in capability. Humility is not a low view of oneself. Right. It is not humble for someone like Michael Phelps to say that he's not a good swimmer.

That's false humility. It is not humble for you to deny compliments that are based upon.

Truth.

Right if you're good at something and someone tells you wow, that was great. You don't deny it. Just say thank you. You receive it graciously. The true humility Is to have the correct view of oneself.

Without maximizing nor minimizing Moses is operating on a truthful and accurate view of What he is capable of and what he is not capable of. Hence after Moses raises his Raises his inadequacy to God God does not say Oh Moses.

Don't say that you can totally do it.

No.

God does not deny that Moses cannot deliver his people by himself because God knows that Moses is Not capable of delivering God's people by himself. Instead God offers a solution a greater deliverer who can.

Verse 13 tells us. So he said I will certainly be with you. God answers to Moses is inadequacy is not none other than his very presence. How does God assure Moses. God assures Moses with a sign that he is with him and This shall be a sign to you that I have sent you a sign.

When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain. Because God will be with him Moses will know That this is a legitimate mission from God when the mission succeeds. That's how we know that Moses was with God that God delivered his people out of Egypt.

When he's done it the success of God's mission is the very sign that God is behind it behind all of it. Only because God is with Moses. His people can freely worship God on this specific mountain Mount Sinai and This is a repeated theme throughout the Bible that God assures his deliverer through the sign.

When Gideon admits that he is unable to deliver the Israelites out of the Midianite oppression the Lord answers and judged 616 surely, I will be with you and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man and God gives him multiple signs when Gideon asked for it.

God's manner of Guaranteeing success is through his very presence with his people. What does this tell us about God? It tells us that God never sends his people out to fail. God does not give an instruction manual and entrust his people to follow through.

God guarantees success because he will be there with his people. While earthly kings risk their people's lives in battles and wars while they stayed behind in a comfortable castle. This sovereign king guarantees successful deliverance through his very presence.

He will be with them. His people cannot possibly fail with God's presence. This concept of God's presence with his people Escalates to its climax when God becomes man and dwells amongst us. To rescue us this time from the bondage of sin and death.

The Apostle Matthew applies the title Emmanuel precisely because he sees that God is with us and That's Jesus God who saves. It is because Jesus lived sinlessly among sinners yet suffered the death for the sinners.

He delivered us from our sin once and for all it is precisely through his presence. Jesus completely delivers his people from sin. Jesus is God with us who makes deliverance from sin a reality. This shows us that we believe in a God Who is with us.

This is what makes atheism wrong. Atheism says God isn't but Christianity has a God who is consistently with willingly is with his people and this also Makes deism wrong which says there is a God. But he's far distant.

He only watches from a distant. He doesn't get involved but even in Exodus we see a God who came down to reveal himself to Moses and promises his presence for the deliverance of his people and for Christians we see that ultimately in Christ who came down.

Physically.

To be with his people. Spend time with his people heal his people and ultimately die for his people. So that his people could be with him. That's who God is. Now who is this deity? How does he reveal himself to Moses?

How does this deity reveal himself to Moses? The utterly unchanging God is forever Faithful to his people. The utterly unchanging God is forever faithful to his people. Then Moses shares a new problem to God's mission.

What if the Israelites ask? What is his name? This question reveals the sad reality of how? paganized Israelites have become Over the centuries of living in Egypt the foreign land a polytheistic nation a nation that worshipped many gods right.

The God of the Nile the God of the Sun the God of You name it? They have adopted the Egyptian gods. The question they're asking is well, which God which God's gonna deliver us? Moses the Sun The Nile.

Is they. As they started worshipping the foreign gods they forgot about their God. They forgot who he is. The Prophet. Ezekiel recounts this history almost a thousand years later.

On.

That day I Raised my hand in an oath to them to bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had searched out for them. Flowing with milk and honey the glory of all lands. Then I said to them each of you throw away the abominations Which are before his eyes and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt.

I am the Lord your God. God's very people were bowing down to foreign idols. Who had no power to free them? God's very people were worshiping Egyptian idols even as they cried out for deliverance. God had to specifically order them to cast away their idols.

Yet they did not. This shows that God's act of deliverance Was purely by grace. God did not deliver his people because they deserved it. God did not deliver his people because of their faithfulness. No, they were idolatrous and remained so even when God delivered his people out of Egypt when God rescues.

It is despite The sinfulness of his people it is despite their undeservedness. It's purely by his grace. God's grace is not a new concept in the New Testament. But it is prevalent in the Old Testament because that is who he is.

God has not changed. He has always been gracious and merciful to his people. In verse 14 God reveals his name to Moses. I am who I am and He said thus you shall say to the children of Israel I am has sent you sent me to you.

In the Hebrew culture a Name was more than just an identity tag. One's name carried with it who the person is it was the description of that person. So right before Moses God reveals who he is. Ontologically who God is as an existing being who is God at his being in his being.

First I am who I am Shows us that God in his being is self-existent. He exists independently of anything else. Our existence can be traced back to a cause often our parents. In fact at one point one point we did not exist right.

Everything in creation in fact at one point did not exist. But was caused to exist by God, but God is not like us.

God.

Has existed without a cause. He exists because that's who he is. Hence his name is I am who I am. He has existed for all eternity and nothing caused him to exist. He exists because that's who he is. Idols and false gods exist because humans shaped them.

Humans named them this God. He is because he is. No human gets to name him. He reveals himself to us fully On his according to his Prerogative. Second. I am who I am tells us that he is self-sufficient.

Now self-sufficiency is not a good trade for any of us. Self-sufficiency Reeks of pride. It says I can do this all by myself, and it is deadly When it's applied to our salvation. Oh, I'm good enough I Can save myself.

That's self-sufficiency and The reason why it's evil when we are self-sufficient is because we are not created to be self-sufficient. We're created for God. We are created for God to magnify his glory and to experience his love.

We're meant to have be in a deep intimate Dependable relationship with God. We're supposed to be dependent on him as babes are to their parents.

Now.

For God to be self-sufficient It's utterly amazing. He does not need anything or anyone. He is. That's his name. He is. That is the direct translation of the Lord when you see it in capitalized in the Bible.

Yahweh often it's called the direct translation is he is. That's who he is and God is he is so he does not need to eat. He does not need us. Now we can't say that about ourselves. We need God in order to survive.

We need food in order to live. We depend on each other. However, God is self-sufficient. He does not need our worship. He does not need our prayer. He does not need our sacrifices. This is utterly this.

God is utterly independent and He is self-sovereign. That is Comforting to us because he delivers us Out of his own goodness if he does not need us. He doesn't need to deliver us. But he delivers us.

Because that's who he is. This is not a quid pro quo. That's his love. He loves us Just because that's who he is. He doesn't love us because that's he needs to love us. He loves us because he loves us next.

This totally independent God is forever faithful. Thus you shall say to the children of Israel the Lord God of your fathers the God of Abraham the God of Isaac the God Of Jacob has sent me to you. This is my name forever.

And this is my memorial to all generations. When Moses came down the mountain to share the good news of God's deliverance to his people. He did not come up with a new deity. Right. Moses did not come up with a new religion.

Like Islam or Mormonism, right? He was in fact sent by the same deity who promised his people centuries before and As he is keeping his own promise. He was sent by God who did not need his people but desired to deliver.

His God's faithfulness Again does not depend on what we do. But who he is and this is who he has been and who he will be. His desire to deliver is Not like our emotion at all where we're happy at one point and sad his desire to deliver Outlast us his desire to deliver has been Before we were even born his desire to deliver Will be there even at your worst and God does not change his mind.

His name is forever. It says he's unchangeable. He does not change his mind about us. He does not change his mind about himself. God does not have mood swings where you have good days with God and bad days with God.

God remains who he is forever as he has always been and We are to remember that for all generations and how can we know this? Well God's name continues all throughout the Bible and it unpacks us. Unpacks for us who he is.

He's the Alpha and the Omega. He's the only one there's no one like him and Ultimately the name I am Applied to Jesus himself in fact in seven different contexts. That's a special number in John in seven different contexts.

Jesus Calls himself the great I am and come find me afterward for the full list. I'm not going over all seven of them. One of the most prominent examples is found in John 8 58. When Jesus declares his pre-existence before Abraham that he existed even before Abraham.

Truly truly I say to you before Abraham was born. I am. This is not grammatically wrong. He's declaring who he is. That's God's name. I am he is physically 30 years old and Jesus declares he has existed even before Abraham.

He connects his identity to I am. He is the great I am who showed up to Moses thousands of years before Jesus was born. Mary did not cause Jesus's existence when he was born. He has all already Existed.

He's always existed. He's the self self-existing. Self-sufficient Unchangeable God who showed up to Moses thousands of years earlier but this time he came down to deliver his people from sin a much greater enemy.

And How does knowing God's self-sufficiency? Affect us. The fact that God does not need anything from us yet still cares about us. Still loves us and still redeems us is ultimately reassuring and comforting.

This means God's love for you does not depend on your works. He loves you because that's who he is. He will love you. Because that's who he is. God's care for you does not depend on your own merit. He cares for you because that's who he is.

Because God is fully independent. There is nothing you can do to change who he is and his faithful love toward you. Human relationships often depend on what you do. We care way too much about what other people think of us.

We often network for jobs. We spend hours decorating our houses. Or social media to impress you got to get the right angle for the picture. You got to have the clever caption and makeup industry is a billion dollar billion dollar industry.

There's a market for it because people care how they are viewed by others and we spend it hours. Sometimes when we hear a negative opinion from someone we care about and we have sleepless nights because of that.

We think what did we do wrong? What did I say wrong? What could I have? What did I what could I have done? What could I have said? However. Because God the great I am who I am. We don't have to worry about God changing his mind about us.

Because his character remains unchangeable. He is as loving as he has ever been. He is as faithful to us as he was to the Israelites.

He.

Does not change his disposition. Toward you because of your sin he is always compassionate and accepting as When he first saved you when you repented. You can come back to him Over and over and over again, and he does not get tired.

Even once because that would mean he changes. He welcomes you when you turn to him in Your deepest darkest sin. He is not disgusted by you. His love for you has not grown cold even by one Fahrenheit. That's who he is and That's what his name tells us.

He is who he is. Now, what does this unchanging sovereign God do? God directs every detail of his plan for deliverance. God directs every detail of his plan for deliverance. After revealing who he is to Moses God discloses more information on how he will Specifically save his people from slavery from verses 16 through 22.

God reveals his plan his full plan of deliverance in with more detail. Verses 16 through 18 for tells the Israelites elders Response their role when Moses shares the plan with them. Verse 19 predicts Accurately the king of Egypt's stubborn refusal to let his people go.

Verses 20 to 22 show us God's response to make such deliverance possible despite the opposition. If verse 8 disclosed a brief synopsis of God's plan of deliverance. Verses 16 through 22 shows us the blueprint of his plan of deliverance.

Every step is meticulously mapped out. Every response is carefully considered. Verse 16 echoes Joseph's prediction found in all the way in Genesis 50 24. So Joseph the Prime Minister who Redeemed God's people earlier on.

He's on his deathbed and he says I am dying.

But.

God will surely visit you and Bring you out of his land to the land of which he swore to Abraham to Isaac and to Jacob. Joseph in his wealth and fame in Egypt Knows that God will visit his people later on That he will keep his promise and here in verse 16 God recalls what Joseph predicted in his deathbed and is faithfully fulfilling his promise.

Verse 17 Reminds us that the deliverance is more than just out of enslavement But towards something magnificent. God's plan for deliverance Does not end in the wilderness But is completed in his land where it flows with milk and honey.

A land of abundance. A land that does not lack a land that his people can delight in. A land that is utterly dependent on God. A Land that God provides. A land that God is the main source.

Of good.

That's a good land and God's full plan is to deliver them into such land from enslavement. Verse 18 foretells that the elders of Israel will support Moses but verse 19 shows that the king of Egypt will not let Israel go to worship the Lord and God has even taken account of the king's refusal.

That is how detailed his plan is because he is who he is. There is no one like him. His plan for deliverance also does not depend on other people or Favorable responses from other people. God will do what he called that he would do what he promised that he will do.

Because that's who he is. He's utterly self-sufficient. And verses 20 through 22 Show us God's response to successfully deliver his people out of Egypt despite the resistance. Verse 20 tells us that God will directly intervene.

So I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all my wonders. Which I will do in its midst and after that he will let you go. There's a word play here the word for God stretching out his hand in judgment has the same root as The Egyptian king letting go.

In one sense when God sends out his hand.

The.

Egyptian king will have to send out God's people. That's the word play that God's cleverly using. The Egyptian king cannot oppose God.

And.

How will God do that? It says through his wonders. In The Bible whenever the word wonder is used 85 of the time it's of a divine intervention. It's miraculous.

Right.

That needs to change our view when it says in Isaiah that the Messiah is the wonderful counselor. Wonderful does not mean Kind and pleasant. I. Of course Jesus is kind and pleasant. But wonderful means he's full of wonder.

The miracles. The divine intervention. That's the type of Messiah We have when we call him the wonderful counselor. It's so much more than just.

Delightful and.

God will do what only God can do to deliver his people out of Egypt. You and I do not perform wonders. That's God's prerogative. It will take acts of God to free his people from Egypt. It has to be supernatural and God will do it.

And Verses 21 through 22 show God's act of deliverance through human agency. Right. Verse 20 showed us that God will deliver through his wondrous works that non no humans can possibly do but God. Here in 21 through 22 he will work through other humans to deliver his people.

Human agency is important and Here, they're not even his people. Right. God who is fully sufficient and sovereign to include Anyone and everyone in his plan. Whether they believe in him or not God is capable Of using them in his deliverance.

Here he will use the Egyptians the very people who oppress the Jews.

To.

Financially sponsor Israel's departure. Every step is well calculated and every hurdle is accounted for. Because God directs his deliverance with every detail in mind He leaves nothing up to chance. Because he is the great I am who is sovereign over everything.

Yet not dependent on any right. The fact that the Egyptians Would give gold and silver and clothing to their slaves. It's outrageous. Yet it says God will change their Disposition. They will even have favor on you.

And what is that gold and silver going to be used for it? Well, it's gonna be used for surviving in the wilderness and Some of the gold and silver they're gonna be using it to build the tabernacle. God has everything in mind.

Slaves don't have pure gold. Well, they will. Now they will when God is done with them. And ultimately we see the great I am's Master orchestration to deliver his people on the cross. John 8 28 says when you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am.

That I do nothing of myself, but as my father taught me I speak these things. How will his people know that Jesus is I am? When he is lifted up when he is crucified. That's when we will know that he is the great I am.

Here we see the great I am who came down to save to deliver. Even if it means He has to lay down his life to deliver his people from their sin. Jesus is the great I am Who directs every detail of his death?

What kind of death he's going to face? That's why the early church prayed in Acts 4 27 through 28 for truly against your holy servant Jesus whom you anointed both Herod and Pontius Pilate with the Gentiles and the people of Israel were gathered together.

To do whatever your hand and your purpose determined before to be done. Even Herod Pontius Pilate and the Gentiles and the Jews put Jesus to death were precisely Going along with the Lord's plan for deliverance.

Now they made their own choices and they're gonna be held accountable for that. But God took that into account and precisely through his death He delivered. That's what kind of God we have.

And.

This is why we can trust the Lord The same God who planned to deliver despite the refusal of the Egyptian King. Is the same God who delivered his people through Christ? crucified for our sin He is the sovereign self-sufficient all-knowing God who left nothing up to the chance and Had ordained every step of the deliverance Despite whoever's opposing it.

This morning you may be going through some unexplainable hardship. You have been suffering for no fault of your own you have been suffering and You're starting to wonder Where is God in all this? Did God abandon me?

Does God know? Does God care? Can God do anything? All of these questions May swirl around your mind as you are facing something difficult during this time however You can rest on the fact that the same God who orchestrates every detail of his deliverance for his people is the same God You worship The same God who loves you and The same God who has delivered you through Christ Crucified let us pray father.

We thank you that You reveal to us who you are. We're not depending on words of man But we're depending on the Word of God the unchangeable God who is self-sufficient Who does not need anything from us who does not need to deliver us yet who desires to deliver us and that Posture that attitude of yours has not changed and it won't change Because you're the great deliverer and you're the unchangeable.

I am we pray that we would delight in and Saturate in that truth today as we go out in Jesus name. Amen.