THE GOD WITH A NAME – WEEK 1
THE NECESSITY OF BROKENNESS
MARCH 2, 2025
EXODUS 3:1-14 – Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. 3 And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” 4 When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5 Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” 6 And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
7 Then the Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, 8 and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 9 And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. 10 Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” 11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” 12 He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”
13 Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” 14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’”
Exodus’s design:
1st half of Exodus = Let my people go (story of salvation from bondage)
2nd half of Exodus = So that they may worship me (laws and instructions on how to build the Tabernacle)
Chapters 1-2 = 400 years of slavery in Egypt.
Chapters 3-40 = God’s rescue plan and ultimate redemption.
Bible’s design:
Genesis 1-3 = Creation and the fall.
Genesis 4 – Revelation 22 = God’s rescue plan and ultimate redemption.
EXODUS 3:1 – Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law…
“And Moses was watching and watching and watching his father-in-law’s sheep.”
Symbolism in Exodus:
Pharaoh = sin/death
Egypt = our broken world
Moses = Jesus
Two Gospel Principles:
You’re of no use to God until you come to the end of yourself
God’s timing is rarely the same as ours
PRINCIPLE #1: You’re of no use to God until you come to the end of yourself.
MATTHEW 19:16-22 – And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” 17 And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” 18 He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, 19 Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 20 The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” 21 Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
MATTHEW 16:24-26 – Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?
PRINCIPLE #2: God’s timing is rarely the same as ours.
Example #1: Jairus’s daughter
MARK 5:36 – Jesus paid no attention to what they said, but told him, “Don’t be afraid, only believe.”
Example #2: Lazarus’s death
JOHN 11:4 – When Jesus heard it, he said, “The final result of this sickness will not be the death of Lazarus; this has happened in order to bring glory to God, and it will be the means by which the Son of God will receive glory.”
JOHN 11:20-21 – So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. 21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”