Sermon

March 18, 2001
3rd Sunday in Lent
Exodus 3:1-8, 10-15

A REVELATION FROM GOD

1. The Circumstances of the Revelation
2. The Content of the Revelation

Tell me, do you think it's possible for a person to receive a direct revelation from God? Does God still speak directly to people today? Every once and a while you hear someone saying that God told them to do something. Take Reggie White for example. Seems like God was continually coming to Reggie and saying things like, "Move to Green Bay, get out of football, get back into football, move to Carolina, and so on." What do you think? Were those revelations from God legit? Does God still speak to people today by means of visions, dreams and and voices from heaven?

Well, that's a little hard to say. What we can say is that God's Word gives us some clear guidelines to follow as we seek to determine whether such revelations are genuine. On the one hand, Scripture says that not every dream, not every vision, not every voice from above is necessarily from God. Satan can use such supernatural devices too, you know. A lot of the messages that people receive are not from God, but are merely figments of their own imagination. Sometimes people like to spout off what they think and then try to put a stamp of authority on it by saying, "God told me." But God himself condemns this very thing when he says in Jeremiah 23:31, "I am against the prophets who wag their own tongues and yet declare, 'The LORD declares.'

So when we hear people saying that they received a message from God, we need to evaluate those reports very critically. We need to ask ourselves, "Who's receiving the message? Under what circumstances the message was received, and most importantly, what was the content of the revelation? Does it agree with what God has already revealed to us in the pages of Holy Scripture?" Remember what the Apostle Paul wrote to the Galatians. He said that it doesn't matter if an angel from heaven offers you a special revelation from God. If that revelation doesn't jibe with everything else God has revealed in his written Word, then tell that angel to go to hell! The point is this: God has already spoken to us through his inspired prophets and apostles. He's already revealed the Truth to us in the Holy Scriptures. We therefore need to be very, VERY careful about adding any so called "modern" revelations to God's holy Word.

So, does that mean that God can't reveal himself to us? Does that mean that God us unable to speak directly to human beings? No, not at all. At many times and in various ways, God has chosen to reveal himself to mere mortals like you and me. In fact, in our text for today we have an example of just such a revelation. Because this one is already recorded for us in God's inspired Scriptures, we can be sure that this revelation is what we might call:

A REVELATION FROM GOD

This morning, we want to take a little closer look at this dramatic dialogue between God and his servant, Moses. We'll consider:

1. The Circumstances of the Revelation
2. The Content of the Revelation

First, the circumstances of the revelation. In the opening verse of our text, we find Moses tending sheep in the wilderness of the Sinai Peninsula. Why is he out there in the middle of nowhere? Well, maybe you remember that after Moses was born in Egypt and raised by the Pharoah's daughter, he kind of took it upon himself to try and rescue his fellow Israelites from their oppression by the Egyptians. In the process, Moses killed an Egyptian. When Pharoah heard what Moses had done, Moses was forced to run for his life. He headed out into the Sinai wilderness and got a job tending sheep.

That's where we find Moses here in our text. Only now, it's 40 years later! Can you imagine some of the burdens that Moses must have been carrying over the course of those 40 years? He was guilty of murder. He was a fugitive of the law. He's separated from his people. He's out in the middle of nowhere. He probably figures that he had been totally forgotten by God.

But, God hadn't forgotten about Moses, had he? God had something to say to Moses and, as you know, God chose a very unique way to communicate his revelation. First, God appeared to Moses in the form of a burning bush. On a number of occasions throughout Old Testament history, God chose to reveal himself in connection with some kind of smoke or fire. You think of the fiery pillar that led the Children of Israel through the wilderness. Or the fire and smoke that covered this same mountain when God gave Moses the 10 commandments. Throughout the Old Testament, God's revelations were often somehow connected with the image of fire.

But, notice, that here in our text, God revealed himself through more than just fire. He also revealed himself through a voice from within the bush. "God called to Moses from within the bush, "Moses! Moses!" And Moses said, "Here I am." 5 "Do not come any closer," God said. "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground." Then he said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob." At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God."

Can you blame Moses for hiding his face from God? I mean, what would you have done if you were in Moses' situation? Remember, you are a fugitive of the law. You're guilty of murder. And now, all of a sudden, you are in the presence of the Almighty God of the Universe? Suddenly you are the unholy one in the presence of the Holy One. We'd all probably be shaking in our boots!

And yet, aren't there some parallels between Moses' circumstances on the mountain, and our circumstances here today? Haven't we come here to the Lord's house carrying some of the same baggage that Moses carried? Maybe we're not guilty of killing anyone, but maybe we are been guilty of the sin of hatred, revenge, or bitterness. Maybe we've been unwilling to forgive those who have sinned against us. Maybe, like Moses, we are still weighed down by the sins of passion committed in our younger days. Maybe, like Moses, we too sometimes feel like God has forgotten about us, or that we've kind of let God down, or that we're kind of wandering through life.

But what has God done for us? He has allowed us come into his presence, to stand before his altar. Even as we gather together for worship here at Mount Olive, God is inviting us to come into his presence. Granted, this church maybe doesn't have quite the breathtaking panoramas of Mount Sinai, or the visual effects of a burning bush. And yet, because this is where God comes to us through his Word and Sacraments, we can still call this a very special place. We can call this place a sanctuary, that is, a holy place. In fact, you might go so far as to say that, in a figurative way, the words that God spoke to Moses still apply to you and me today. "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground."

But, let's also understand that where we are today is not nearly as important as what we hear today. The same thing was true of Moses here in our text. More important than the circumstance of the revelation he received was II. The Content of the Revelation.

The information which God revealed to Moses here might well be divided into two parts. First, God offers a revelation about Moses. God tells Moses that he was going to be the one to bring the Israelites out of Egypt. Moses, of course, balks at that idea. Moses is no longer as cocksure of himself as he once was. Moses says to God, "Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?" Notice how God addresses Moses' worries and doubts. God assures Moses with the words, "I will be with you, Moses." God even offers Moses a very specific promise to cling to. God says, "This will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain."

But notice that Moses has one more objection. "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?" I think it's important to understand something here. When Moses asks God for his name, he's not looking for simply a title to attach to God. He's not saying, "Should I refer to you as Lord, or God, or Allah or Jehovah?" No, rather, Moses is saying, "God, tell me what you are really like. Tell me who you really are." And really, it's that question that marks the turning point in this revelation of God. For from that point on God stops talking about Moses and starts talking about himself. The most important part of this whole revelation is what God reveals about himself.

What does God say? 14 God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.'" With those words, God reveals a number of things about himself. Notice, first of all, that God uses the personal pronoun "I". That means that God is a person. He's not just a force, like electricity, or an idea, like love. He's not just the embodiment of all the laws of nature. No, God is a person. That means he has a personality; he can think, and communicate, he can act independently.

God says, "I am who I am." With those words, God is underscoring his absolute independence. God is not dependent upon anyone else for his existence. God was not created by man. Man was created by God. God is not who we make him to be. God is who he has always been. Another way to put that is to say that God is eternal. God has always been in existence. There was never a time when he wasn't. There will never be a time when he won't be. God simply "is". That's what God means when he refers to himself simply as "I am."

Friends, this is how God revealed himself to Moses on Mount Sinai. But, if you think about it, God didn't offer this revelation only for the ears of one person, did he? No. The very same things God revealed to Moses, he has revealed to us, right here in the pages of Holy Scripture. As God spoke to Moses about his future, so God speaks to us about our future. Time and time again throughout the pages of Scripture, God comforts us with the promise of his continued presence in our lives. He promises that he has a good and perfect plan for our lives in time and eternity. He assures us that he will cause all things to work for our good.

But even more important than what God tells us about us, is what he tells us about himself. You see, if God hadn't revealed his true nature to us in Scripture, then we'd all be left to try and figure out for ourselves who God really is. We'd all be left to try and create God in our own minds. In fact, that's what a lot of people are doing these days. How often don't you hear people say things like, "I believe in a god who accepts me just the way I am, regardless of my sexual orientation." Or, "I think that God would approve of my living situation." Or "I can't believe that God would ever send anybody to hell." Or, "I can't believe that God could let a guy like Jeffrey Dahmer into heaven." What are those people doing? They are creating a God as they think he should be. They are all trying to define God in terms that they are comfortable with. But what did God say? "I am who I am," not "I am whoever you want me to be. Or "I am whoever you think I am."

Remember, God is the creator. We are the created. That means that our job is not to engage in some kind of philosophical debate regarding whom we perceive God to be. No, our job is to simply stop, look and listen to the divine revelation which God has given of himself right here in his Holy Word. When we do that, when we allow God to speak on the subject which he alone is the ultimate authority, we will discover who God really is. We will discover a God who is so holy and so just that he will someday rain destruction on all this world and all who have turned their backs on him. But, more importantly, as we study God's revelation of himself, we will discover a God who is so merciful, so overflowing with free and faithful grace that, as Jesus himself said, "God gave his only and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life."

Friends, God has revealed that saving truth about himself right here in the pages of Holy Scripture. May God open our eyes to see and our hearts to believe that the God revealed to Moses, the God revealed in Christ, is truly your God and mine, in Jesus' name. Amen.