Sermon Tone Analysis

Pray

You know a story is told about the father of a vacationing family who came across a large sign that read, “Road Closed.

Do Not Enter.”

The man proceeded around the sign because he was confident it would save them time.

His wife was resistant to the adventure, but there was no turning back for this persistent road warrior.

After a few miles of successful navigation, he began to boast about his gift of discernment.

A little while down the road however his proud smile was quickly replaced with humble sweat when the road led to a washed-out bridge.

He turned the car around and retraced his tracks to the main road.

When they arrived at the original warning sign, he was greeted by the large letters on the back of the sign that read… “Welcome back, stupid!”

You see Guys this morning, so many of us can relate with traveling down the wrong roads in life… and ignoring the signs, or direction that God is giving us.

You see, last week, if you were here… you’ll recall the story of Joseph… and you’ll recall the difficulties which he faced in life, which we’re ultimately detours… You see much the turns in life which Joseph faced weren’t perhaps what he had in mind… but ones which God, in his providence allowed to take place because it would lead to the saving of many lives.

This morning, we’re going to continue in a similar fashion.

But our focus is less on detours or unexpected interruptions… and more on how to move forward as we follow the signs God gives us in life.

You see, I didn’t ask this last week… but we know we’ve entered a new year… so just by a show of hands does anyone have any new Years resolutions?

Or goals this year?

You see whether you have goals or not… what we can all relate on is this, we all want good things for our lives.

Right?

We all want good things for our family, and for our kids and for our future.

And do you want to know a little secret this morning, guys, God wants the same thing for us.

Jeremiah 29:11 tells us: 11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

And so, with in mind… as we venture into the new year with intentionality… The question becomes, how do we live in such a way as to make sure God’s will, and the good things he has in store for us take place?

In other words, how can we make sure that our own actions aren’t shooting our own self in the foot.

And the key is this… we must follow God! God’s all knowing, he created this world.

So, the key become following God’s voice in our life… but then the key becomes well how does God speak to me?

In life, when we make decisions… how is he communicating to me?

Over the next few weeks, that’s going to be our theme….

You see, each of us would love to hear God better, and understand him more.

And my prayer is that each of us in our own lives would be hearing him better each and every day.

And so, with this in mind, over the few weeks we’re going to move from Genesis onto Exodus… are sermon series is going to be on Forward Motion.

You see, as we enter into a new year, we can’t go back to where we came from… we can’t retrace our steps and get back to 2021… and so the only way forward is what?

Moving forward.

And so, with this in mind… Turn with me to the book of Exodus chapter 3.

And our theme for this first message of the series is this: here’s your sign.

– before the journey begins as we study today, there are 3 points we’ll dive into. 1.

The form of signs (in other words, how does God communicate to us.) 2. The timing of signs (or know when to act) 3. (The challenge so often) is the willingness to follow.

The form of signs (and how God communicates to us.)

As you’re turning to Exodus 3, I want to unpack the scene that we discover this morning.

If you’ll remember from when we last left off last week with Joseph.

Who through a series of detours, God would move to Egypt and ultimately cause him to become 2nd in command.

And he would go on to find favor with the Pharoah.

But between the close of Genesis and the beginning of Exodus, we have 300 years that’s passed by.

In the course of time, a new king comes to power.

One to which the Israelites means nothing.

In fact, he feels threatened by their great size and wants to start killing off all of the new baby boys.

In addition, God’s people are living as slaves and the bible tells us the Egyptians treated them horribly.

Exodus 1:14 states: “They made their lives bitter with harsh labor in brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their harsh labor the Egyptians worked them ruthlessly.”

And so, what we find is this… Although God made a promise and a covenant to Abraham all those years before… Now, his chosen people are living in a land not their own.There lives are difficult, and they’re facing pain, and more so, all the Hebrew boys are being killed off…

And yet friends… God is done with this story.

You see, we’re told in Exodus 2:23-25: “23 During that long period, the king of Egypt died.

The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God. 24 God heard their groaning, and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob.

25 So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them.”

Guys, God heard their cry, and his heart was moved.

It’s at this point that we’re introduced to Moses…

Moses you’ll recall should have been killed and thrown in the Nile, but instead, his parents put him in a basket and placed him in river.

Where he’s discovered by the pharaoh’s daughter.

In the course of time Moses would be raised pharaohs daughter, in the household of Egyptian royalty.

Later in life Moses would kill one of the Egyptians who was beating one of his own people.

And still later, Moses flees and escapes to Midian where he gets married and spends a total of 40 years working as a shepherd.

You see friends, God didn’t forget about the Israelites.

God didn’t forget his covenant to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob… but rather… God is mindful of his people.

God is getting ready to move his people… but here’s the key, before the move started, there was signs or indicators.

God didn’t just call out to Moses the day before they crossed the Red Sea and say oh by the way… tomorrow you’re going to lead a multitude of Israelites through the red sea.

No God was making preparations, God was speaking to Moses’ months before he would call him to act.

Turn with me to Exodus 3:1-14 as we see that God is getting Moses ready for what’s to come.

3 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.

(or Mt.

Sinai) 2 There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush.

Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. 3 So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”

4 When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him 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.”

6 Then he said, “I am the God of your father,[a] 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.

7 The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt.

I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering.

8 So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.

9 And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them.

10 So now, go.

I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”

11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” 12 And God said, “I will be with you.

And 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[b] will worship God on this mountain.”

So, if we stop for a second, I want us to catch this point… The promise that God made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob all those years before… The promise of increasing their descendants, and giving them a new land and blessing them… It’s not a new promise… but rather an existing promise to God…

But at the same time, we see Moses enter the scene who is 80 years of age… and there is this intersection in life, in which the promise of God to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob… meets the journey of Life which Moses is on… and at the merging of these 2 moments God is about to include Moses into accomplishing his will and removing the people from Egypt and ultimately onto the land of Canaan.

But here’s the key… I want us to notice, that God was preparing Moses for the Journey ahead, before the Journey begins.

And how does he do this?

Well, if we look back over the text, 1.

Through the burning bush.

2. Then we see God’s voice calling out to Moses.

And later in verse 12 we also see that God says: I will be with you.

And finally, we see God promise a sign in the form of a mountain.

And so here… the bush being on fire, the voice of God speaking to Moses, the presence of God with Moses, and the sign of the Mountain….

They’re all means in which God is communicating to Moses.

But here’s the key he’s getting the attention of Moses, before the journey begins.

For the sake of time, we won’t cover all the ways in which God speaks to us… but I do want us to see that they can come through a variety of different ways.

On the slide behind me, we see common ways that God speaks to us: The bible, prayer, through His Spirit, through other people, in dreams or visions, through a sense of peace, by open and closed doors, throughs angels and even through music.

In fact, if you think about it and recall back to the book of numbers God even used a donkey to communicate.

And for today’s message, our focus is less on the specific ways in which he communicates… and more on the idea, that before the journey begins… that he begins to work within us.

But here’s the question, are we looking for the signs?