Holy Ground Part II

January 7, 2001   Holy Ground, Part II    Exodus 3

By Ronald E. George Jr. at the Fayetteville Baptist Church

Moses said, “Here am I.” Will you turn aside and see this great sight? Will you answer the Lord’s call in your life today? He is the God of all the ages. The only true, living God invites you to answer him today. This is Holy Ground. How will you answer today? Would you turn to see the Holy Place today?

What happened to Moses when he had a close encounter with the Lord that day on the mountain? Can the Lord have the same effect on you when you encounter him?

Scripture Text: Exodus 3:1 (KJS) Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, [even] to Horeb. 2 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush [was] not consumed. 3 And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. 4 And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here [am] I. 5 And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest [is] holy ground. 6 Moreover he said, I [am] the God of thy 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 upon God. 7 And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which [are] in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; 8 And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 9 Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them. 10 Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt. 11 And Moses said unto God, Who [am] I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt? 12 And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this [shall be] a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain. 13 And Moses said unto God, Behold, [when] I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What [is] his name? what shall I say unto them? 14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.

When we come into Holy Ground will we:

1.    Answer as Moses did? When God comes, he waits and calls for you to join him on the hillside. Will you answer as Moses did? “Here, I am.”

2.    Remember who we are? (Take off our shoes): We have to remove our shoes so that we will remember what we are made of and who it is that made us. We are created from the dirt of the earth by the hands of the Lord of all the universe. He is calling to you from the midst of the fire of the Holy Spirit. He wants you to remember that is the one who is worthy of your submission. You may not want to get your feet dirty, but he says to take off your shoes and remember who we are.

3.    Fear the Lord? (He hid his face from the Lord.) Moses feared the Lord. He realized who God is and what He can do. But, we don’t have to fear the Lord’s wrath, because he loves us. We should respect and reverence the Lord. Moses and the patriarchs respected God and served him. We should respect and serve him as they did.

4.    See as what God sees? (He saw the distress of the people in slavery in Egypt.) God’s sees the plight of the people. He sees the distress in which they live in a daily basis. He hear’s their cry for relief and wants to do something about it. He can do something about it, but he wants a leader to bring the people out of the land of oppression.

5.    Dream with the Lord? (Saw a picture of a preferred future with Moses being the deliverer.) The Lord sees a picture of where the people can be with him. He sees a land of milk and honey where his people live and serve him. He sees a place where people are treated with fairness and justice. He sees them living with hope and joy that he can give them.

6.    Consider our weaknesses as opportunities for God’s Glory. When we are weak, He is strong. We are frail but he is all powerful. We make mistakes and sin, but he is perfect and holy. Moses realizes that he is not able to deliver the people from the hand of Pharaoh. But God says, certainly I will be with you.

11 And Moses said unto God, Who [am] I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt? 12 And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this [shall be] a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.

7.    Know God by his first name. (I am.) Will we take advantage of our opportunity to get to know God on a first name basis? Do you really know Him? He is the great “I am.” He is whatever he wants to be.

8.    Go in the name of the Lord. (I am whatever I want to be.) How can we go? Go in the name of the Lord. He will do whatever he wants to. He wants us to go.

A friend tells of his visit to a lighthouse. "Are you not afraid to live here?" he asked the keeper. "Not at all," was his reply. "We never think of ourselves." "Never think of yourselves! How is that?" Asked the visitor. "We know that we are perfectly safe and only think of having our lamps burning brightly and keeping the reflectors clear, that those in danger may be saved."

   We who are believers in Christ are safe in a house built on a rock, which cannot be harmed by the wildest storms. In a spirit of love, devoid of selfishness, we should keep our light shining brightly for Christ that those all around, struggling in the sea of sin, might find forgiveness in Christ Jesus. -- J. Allen Blair, Living Consistently, Kregel, 1995, pp. 54-55.