Who Is Your God?
“13 Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”
14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.[a] This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’”
15 God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord,[b] the 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,
the name you shall call me
from generation to generation.
16 “Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—appeared to me and said: I have watched over you and have seen what has been done to you in Egypt.”
Introduction
A. You have to understand and believe the background story for the situation that Moses faced to be counted as a real story in your heart. If you don’t read your Bible believing the things that happened were true, then you better ask yourself, “Who is my god?”
B. The story of Moses really started with Abraham, at the time, he was simply called Abram. His name meant, “Exalted Father.” It was a great name, except he and Sarai were unable to have children. God told them they would be parents, but it was laughable once they were so old. But we know that when she was 90 and he 100 she gave birth to Isaac. God extended his name to from Abram to Abraham, which means “Father of nations.” In fact, was promised to Abraham through his seed all the nations of the earth would be blessed. The faith seen in Abraham is one that is often referred to in scripture.
C. From Abraham came Isaac, from Isaac came Jacob whose name was changed to Israel. From his children came the 12 tribes and from that linage came Moses. Why is that important? Because our lesson today is a question, “Who is YOUR God?
God Reveals Himself to Moses
A. Our reading is a story in which God reveals himself to Moses and answers the question this sermon is based upon, “Who is your God?”
B. Jacob had taken his family of 70 people down to Egypt at the request of his son Joseph so that they would be taken care of due to the famine in Canaan. But they went from honored guest to slaves and now, over 400 years had passed from that journey by Jacob to the time of Moses.
C. God had spared the life of Moses by allowing Pharaoh’s daughter to find in a basket and have enough compassion to take and raise him in the palace.
D. As Moses grew up, he most likely had the best that Egypt had to offer as far as education and riches. Yet, he knew he was as Hebrew and not an Egyptian. When was 40 years old, he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew slave, Moses did the unthinkable, he kill the Egyptian. The matter did not go unnoticed. The next day when two Hebrews were fighting, Moses intervened only to reminded of what he did to the Egyptian the day before. With that hanging over his head, Moses decided to run away. He left Egypt and went into the Sinai Peninsula, to the land of Midian. Only to witness another injustice where some women were getting water and a group of shepherds tried to chase them away. Well, that earned him a wife! And for 40 years he lived in the wilderness with her family.
E. So now, Moses is 80 years old. He’s walked away from the Hebrew people for the last 40 years. He lived life on his own terms with a family in the desert, and it is now that God reveals himself to Moses. Moses sees a burning bush that doesn’t burn up and upon inspection hears the voice of God speak. READ Ex. 3:4-6.
God of Whom?
A. I want you to see something that I don’t believe was written simply as a passing statement, but as purposeful statement. Ex. 3:6, 15, 16; Ex. 4:5; Ex. 6:3, 8; Ex. 33:1 all use the phrase “the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” Scripture keeps having God tells us that He is the God of these men. That has to have meaning and value if God is the one who keeps stating it.
B. For over 400 years the Hebrew people lived in Egypt. In that timeline we have no knowledge of God doing any special miracles or teaching them in some miraculous way. We don’t have a written law from God for these people to follow. All these people had was stories about their past. And they needed reminding of the stories, because they were real. God chose Abraham to create their nation.
C. Moses meets God at the bush and God commissions Moses to Pharaoh and to bring, listen to this, “that you bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” (Ex. 3:10). God has put in a claim. God says to Moses that the Hebrews, the people of Israel, are His people and it’s time to go home. But what does that mean to people who have not heard the voice of God in 400 years?
D. So we come to our reading today. That is the question. How does Moses, who ran away from these people, go to them and say to them God has sent me to you, they will ask, “What is his name?” (retelling of verse 13)
E. They have lived for centuries among the gods of Egypt. They may not have believed in those gods, but at least they knew who they were and the Egyptian gods had names. Moses knows people well enough that he knows they will ask, “Which god is the one that will supposedly save us?”
F. We love the answer God gives (Ex. 3:14). The Hebrew letters of God’s name are unpronounceable. We put in vowels to make a name (YHWH to YaHWeH). But God doesn’t stop there. Read Ex. 3:15. That’s powerful!
Who Is YOUR God?
A. So I ask one of the deepest, most probing questions ever asked, “Who is YOUR God?” I know we live in a world where people make gods from their own understanding. Jesus calls the love of things a god. We can make power, people, prestige or anything into a god. A god is simply that which we bow down to, that which we seek above all else.
B. But let me tell you about the God of Abraham, of Isaac, of Jacob. Let me tell you about the one and true God who created the world in which we live. The God who called you out of the darkness of sin and into his marvelous light of salvation. That is God we serve.
C. Our God is eternal – from everlasting to everlasting. He is immortal. To Him belongs all honor and dominion for ever and ever. Amen! The God we bow down to leads us beside the still waters, let’s us eat from green pastures and walks with us THROUGH the valleys.
D. The Great I AM is a statement of a self-existent being. God’s proclamation is that He is currently the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, means they may have died in this world, but are still with Him. It is that very idea that Jesus argues with the Sadducees about the resurrection (Mark 12:24-27).
E. Don’t forget who your God is. He is the God of the living and the dead. He is the same God who created Adam from dust that recreates us from a sinful being to a sanctified being. Our God is greater than me, this congregation, this religious movement, this country and this world. We serve the Great I AM and therefore walk by faith that His will is always the right way for our lives.
Conclusion:
A. That was the commission God gave to Moses. Go back to Egypt and remind the people who God is. Sometimes even Christian people forget Christ. Sometimes godly people need to be reminded of who God is.
B. My life is but a vapor that appears for a little while then vanishes away, but God holds both me and tomorrow in His hand. Take courage and do not be afraid, for God is with you. If we can help you keep for you faith strong, your walk holy and heart pure, then come while we stand and sing.