Series Big Idea: "Showing how the early stories of Scripture establish God’s Plan of Salvation”

Sermon Big: "God shows Himself as the Savior of His people through ordinary means"

Key Scripture (Exodus 3)

As we continue our journey through "The Blueprint of Redemption" series, we're witnessing God's master plan of salvation unfold through the pages of Scripture. For the past several weeks, we've been reading together through the CSB Chronological Day by Day Bible, seeing how God has been weaving His redemptive story from the very beginning. We've witnessed creation, the fall, the flood, and God's covenant with Abraham. Now, we arrive at a pivotal moment in redemption history – the calling of Moses.

I want you to picture Moses, a man who once walked the halls of Pharaoh's palace, now reduced to tending sheep in the wilderness. Exodus tells us he had fled from Egypt after his failed attempt to help his people (Exodus 2:11-15). For forty years, he had lived in Midian, married, had children, and settled into the quiet life of a shepherd. The princely robes were gone, replaced by the simple garments of a wanderer. The dreams of delivering his people had faded into the routine of leading sheep through the desert. But God had different plans. On what seemed like any other ordinary day at the base of Mount Horeb, and everything changed (Exodus 3:1-2).

The Covenant God Appears

The desert wasn't a special place until God made it special. Moses wasn't doing anything extraordinary. He was just being faithful in his daily work. Yet God chose that ordinary moment to reveal Himself through a burning bush (Exodus 3:2-3). Think about the disciples, they were just fishing when Jesus called them. As Matthew 4:18-19 tells us, "As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 'Come, follow me,' Jesus said, 'and I will send you out to fish for people.'" Even Paul's dramatic conversion happened during a routine journey (Acts 9:1-3).

This teaches us something profound: There are no ordinary moments in God's economy. Every moment has the potential to become holy ground. As Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 1:26-29, God often chooses the ordinary to accomplish His extraordinary purposes.

The Holy God Demands Reverence

When Moses realized he was in God's presence, God commanded him, "Do not come any closer. Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground" (Exodus 3:5). This wasn't about the sandals; it was about recognizing that he was standing in God's presence.

Jesus demonstrated this same principle when He washed His disciples' feet. John 13:3-5 tells us, "Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist... and began to wash his disciples' feet."

As Hebrews 12:28-29 reminds us, "Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our 'God is a consuming fire.'"

The Great I Am Promises His Presence

Moses' first response to God's call was "Who am I?" (Exodus 3:11). He felt inadequate, unprepared, unqualified. But God's response wasn't to list Moses' qualifications. Instead, He simply said, "I will be with you" (Exodus 3:12). The power wasn't in Moses' ability; it was in God's presence.

This same truth echoes through Paul's words in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10: "But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me."

Jesus himself assured us of this divine presence through the Holy Spirit, saying, "And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever" (John 14:16).

The Deliverer Calls for Trust

God gave Moses specific instructions (Exodus 3:16-22), and despite his fears and doubts, Moses eventually stepped forward in faith. Like Abraham, of whom Hebrews 11:8 says, "By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going."

James 2:17 reminds us that "faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead." God's call always requires us to step out of our comfort zone, but He promises to be with us every step of the way. As Jesus promised in Matthew 28:20, "And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

Conclusion:

The burning bush that Moses encountered wasn't just about a miraculous sight in the desert, it was about God breaking into the ordinary to do the extraordinary. Moses stood before that bush as a shepherd, but he walked away as a deliverer. God revealed Himself as "I AM WHO I AM" (Exodus 3:14), the ever-present, all-sufficient One who transforms ordinary people into instruments of His divine purpose.

As we continue our journey through Scripture together this year, reading day by day through God's word, we'll see this pattern repeat itself: God meeting ordinary people and calling them to extraordinary purposes. The same God who met Moses in the desert, who called fishermen by the sea, who confronted Paul on the Damascus Road, is still at work today. He still transforms ordinary moments into divine appointments, and ordinary people into His extraordinary servants.

This week, as you continue reading through your CSB Chronological Bible, watch for these moments where God breaks into the ordinary. Remember that each page reveals another aspect of God's blueprint for redemption, and that He's still writing His story today through ordinary people like you and me.

Will you, like Moses, say "Here I am" when God calls?

Pastor Beaver's thoughts and ideas are inspired by:

Holman Christian Standard Bible

English Standard Version Bible

King James Version Bible

Christian Standard Bible

Estes, Daniel J. Job. Edited by Mark L. Strauss et al., Baker Books, 2013.Barton, Bruce et al. Life Application New Testament Commentary. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale, 2001. Print.

Walvoord, John F., and Roy B. Zuck, Dallas Theological Seminary. The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985. Print.

MacArthur, John F., Jr. The MacArthur Study Bible: New American Standard Bible. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2006. Print.

Robertson, A.T. Word Pictures in the New Testament. Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1933. Print.

Vincent, Marvin Richardson. Word Studies in the New Testament. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1887. Print.

Richards, Lawrence O. The Bible Reader’s Companion. electronic ed. Wheaton: Victor Books, 1991. Print.

Water, Mark, ed. Encyclopedia of Bible Facts. Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2004. WORDsearch CROSS e-book. 

NIV, Archaeological Study Bible, eBook: An Illustrated Walk Through Biblical History and Culture

Walter C. Kaiser Jr., Duane Garrett, and Walter C. Kaiser Jr.

NIV, First-Century Study Bible, eBook: Explore Scripture in Its Jewish and Early Christian Context

Zondervan, Kent Dobson, and Ed Dobson

Jamieson, Robert, A. R. Fausset, and David Brown. Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997.

Blum, Edwin A., and Trevin Wax, eds. CSB Study Bible: Notes. Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017.

Barry, John D., Douglas Mangum, Derek R. Brown, Michael S. Heiser, Miles Custis, Elliot Ritzema, Matthew M. Whitehead, Michael R. Grigoni, and David Bomar. Faithlife Study Bible. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012, 2016.

Wilson, Neil S. The Handbook of Bible Application. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 2000.

Dockery, David S., ed. Holman Concise Bible Commentary. Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1998.

Water, Mark. Key Word Commentary: Thoughts on Every Chapter of the Bible. AMG Publishers, 2003.

Brannan, Rick, and Israel Loken. The Lexham Textual Notes on the Bible. Lexham Bible Reference Series. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2014.

Radmacher, Earl D., Ronald Barclay Allen, and H. Wayne House. Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Commentary. Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers, 1999.

Keener, Craig S. The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993.

Smith, Jerome H. The New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge: The Most Complete Listing of Cross References Available Anywhere- Every Verse, Every Theme, Every Important Word. Nashville TN: Thomas Nelson, 1992.

Hughes, Robert B., and J. Carl Laney. Tyndale Concise Bible Commentary. The Tyndale Reference Library. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2001.

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