[0:00] Well good morning and a warm welcome to the service this morning. It's good to see so many out today and it's good to see a good number of visitors out with us as well.
[0:11] If you're able to stay behind there's tea and there's coffee through in the room on my left at the end of the service and you'd be very welcome to join us for that.
[0:21] The service this morning will be conducted by Ian Morrison who you've known for longer than you've known me. Chrissie's son, Peggy's brother, that's his fame here.
[0:33] So it's great to have Ian with us and Sheena and the family and we look forward to hearing God's word through Ian this morning. The evening service is at 6 and I'll be conducting that service, God willing, and we'll look at the beginning of a new study in the life of Abraham.
[0:54] On the course of the week a few things just to highlight. Little Fishers on Tuesday meets as usual 10 till 12. Road to Recovery on Tuesday at 7 in the church.
[1:06] Prayer meeting will be at half past 7 here on Wednesday and we'll meet in person. There'll also be Zoom and this Wednesday we'll hear from Shoris and Sarah McGilvery of OM via Zoom.
[1:21] So be encouraged to come along to that. Wednesday passed. I just got back on Wednesday. I think it was. Was it Tuesday night? With Calmark disruptions.
[1:32] But it was such an encouragement to see how many people were at the prayer meeting. That's the engine room of the church. That's where the work really goes on.
[1:43] So be encouraged again to come along to the prayer meeting as we hear about God's work in different parts of the world. This week the holiday club, a shortened holiday club, is on Thursday and Friday.
[1:57] You might wonder why is it short. The reason it's short is we're having kids clubs, Jam Connect, rooted all the way through a big part of the year.
[2:08] So a lot of the work that was done very intensely in a week in the holiday club we now do over the duration of the year. So a shorter holiday club this year on Thursday and Friday from 10 till 12 noon.
[2:20] And please, boys and girls, be encouraged to come to that. And those who have passed that age, be encouraged please to pray for that work as it continues.
[2:36] Services next Sunday will be at 11 and 6 and I will take both these services, God willing. And there's details there about, remember the Sabbath day?
[2:47] Is the Lord's day still relevant in the 21st century? There's a book that's advertised there and you have details concerning that if that's of interest. These, I think, are all the intimations.
[2:59] So I will very happily go and sit down in the congregation and invite Ian to come up and lead us in our worship of God. Thank you. Good morning.
[3:14] It's good to be with you and I'm glad to be here. We left Glasgow at about 3 o'clock on Friday afternoon. We meant to go for a boat that was going to be leaving at 2 o'clock this morning.
[3:30] But we went to Olapal 6 o'clock yesterday morning and we managed to get across on the unbooked queue. And on the ferry coming over I was just kind of thinking, well, I'm glad that the Apostle Paul didn't rely on Calmark when he went on his missionary journeys.
[3:49] We would have had half a gospel. Let's worship God. We're going to sing together. Psalm 105.
[4:00] Psalm 105. Once I find it.
[4:16] Oh, thanks. And we're going to sing the first seven verses. Give thanks to God, calling his name, to men his deeds make known.
[4:27] Sing ye to him, sing psalms, proclaim his wondrous works, each one. Psalm 105, verses 1 to 7. Give thanks to God, calling.
[5:05] The Lord, sing psalms, proclaim his name, to men his deeds make known.
[5:16] Sing ye to him, sing psalms, proclaim his wondrous works, each one.
[5:33] See that ye in his holy name, to glory do accord.
[5:49] And let the hearts of everyone rejoice, that seeks the Lord.
[6:07] The Lord, the Lord almighty, and his strength, with steadfast hearts see ye.
[6:25] His blessed hand, his gracious face, seek ye continually.
[6:42] Think of the works that he hath done, with admiration bring.
[7:01] His wonders, the judgments of all, which from his mouth proceed.
[7:19] O ye that are of Abram's race, his servants well not grown.
[7:38] And ye that Jacob's children are, whom he chose for his own.
[7:57] Because he had, he only is, the mighty God our God.
[8:14] And his most righteous judgments are, in all the earth abroad.
[8:31] Let's all come before God in prayer. Let us pray. Come into your presence this morning, irrespective of who we are, how old we are, or how young we are.
[8:58] We thank you that you welcome us to your house, and you welcome us into your holy presence. And Father, as we come, we are mindful of who it is we come before.
[9:11] You are the great God, who created all the ends of the earth. You are the God, who even now is worshipped by angels and archangels in heaven.
[9:26] The one before whom they veil their faces and cry out, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty. You are the king who reigns in splendour.
[9:40] There is no one, and there has never been anyone, and there never will be anyone greater than you. And your reign is from everlasting to everlasting.
[9:51] And Father, we can't even imagine that concept. We can't begin to imagine it. But that is who you are. Father, and you reign with justice and with mercy.
[10:06] And you invite us this morning to come into your presence. And Father, as we come, we not only acknowledge who it is we come before, but we acknowledge who we are ourselves in our humanity, in our fallen humanity.
[10:23] Father, we failed you in so many ways, in thought, in word, and in deed. And Lord, we confess that now. And we ask that through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, that we might be accepted in your presence.
[10:41] Because we thank you that not only do you know us, but you love us. And you opened up a way whereby we, sinful human beings, can come before a holy God.
[10:52] And that is why, when we come into your presence, we claim the name of Jesus Christ. The one who came and said that he is the way, the truth, and the life, and that no one comes to the Father but through him.
[11:09] And this morning, we thank you for Jesus. We thank you for what he has done for us. We thank you for his life and his ministry. But above all, we thank you for his death on the cross, as he took our sins upon himself.
[11:24] We thank you that death could not hold him, that that last enemy was defeated. We thank you that he rose again, and he too now reigns with you in glory.
[11:36] He sits at your right hand, having all authority and all dominion and all power. Father, we thank you for your Holy Spirit.
[12:11] In and through the name of Jesus Christ. So, Father, be pleased to bless us. Speak to us in the quietness. Speak to us through your word. Speak to us in the praise.
[12:24] Father, because we want to hear your voice. Because we pray this in and through the name of Jesus Christ, our Saviour and our Lord. Amen. I see quite a few boys and girls here.
[12:39] I don't know if they want to come forward. Down to the front. There's a bit of space on both sides. Before you head off to your Sunday groups.
[12:56] I know very few of you. You all know Rory, I'm sure. My grandson. I know very few of you. But I probably know your grandparents. Some of them, and they probably know me.
[13:10] But it's good to be with you this morning. Have any of you been watching anything exciting on TV over the last couple of weeks? What's been the main event that's been on over the Commonwealth Games?
[13:26] Really good fun, aren't they? And it's amazing watching these athletes. Whether they're swimming or diving or running or lifting weights or whatever.
[13:36] It's amazing seeing them doing that. I've got a photo here of one of the athletes. If we can have it up. Can you guess which one of these is the athlete?
[13:56] Laura Muir. Laura Muir. Yes, that's Laura Muir. And she did really well last night. She won bronze in the 800 metres. And I think she's running in the 1500 metres tonight.
[14:09] And she's hoping that she'll win gold. And I was fortunate to meet with her. Because the work I used to do. I was able to get her to agree to become one of her ambassadors.
[14:23] That means that she was a sports ambassador. And she represented my organisation, Revive MS Support. And she's continued doing that. And this is me giving her one of her t-shirts.
[14:36] She's not allowed to wear it in competitions, unfortunately. Because Nike won't allow it. But she's got it. And she wears it when she's training. And at other times. And when I was speaking to Laura.
[14:48] I thought, come on with games. Easy peasy. I thought. You know, they'll just kind of head off down to Birmingham. And put on their running shoes. And just go and run.
[15:01] And win bronze. That it was easy enough. I thought, actually. Maybe I could try it. Because it looked easy, doesn't it? You know. If you're only running 100 metres. That's, what, about maybe twice the length of this building.
[15:14] This room here. I'm sure I could do that. Huh? Do you think? Do you think I could do it? I could probably do it.
[15:24] But could I do it in 9.6 seconds? Don't think so. So I don't think it's as easy as it looks. And when I was speaking to Laura. I was asking her. You know. What her idea was for her.
[15:37] And at the time. She was at university. She's a vet now. She was telling me to be a vet. And she was telling me. That she'd be up at. Every morning. Five o'clock in the morning.
[15:49] And then she'd go out. And. Do a run. For a couple of hours. Then she'd come home on her breakfast. She'd go to her study. Do her studies.
[15:59] At university. And then at lunch time. She'd go into the gym. For two hours. Then. She went back to her studies. In the afternoon. And then. In the evening.
[16:10] She went out. Practicing. And training again. And she did that. Almost every day of the week. She would have seven days off. Just to get her body back.
[16:21] To normal again. But then she would start. All over again. And she's now 29. And she's been doing that. Since she was your age. And it's only recently really.
[16:32] That she started winning. In these major competitions. And. I don't think. That me turning up. Or you turning up. At the Commonwealth Games. I don't think you'd kind of win anything.
[16:42] I don't think I would win anything. Because. It requires real determination. And. I thought I could kind of. Just go in my. Kind of jeans. And my t-shirt. And my shoes.
[16:54] And that I could run. And win something. But. She was saying. No. No. No. No. You need to. You need to be properly clothed. So. What is it that. You see. Them wearing. The shoes are really special.
[17:06] Because the shoes have something. On the bottom. They're spikes. To give them good grip. And they're really light. The shoes are really. Really light. And all of them wear different clothes.
[17:17] Obviously. If you look at the divers. And swimmers. They need to wear clothes. To make sure they go. Through the water. As quickly as possible. And the runners. They wear stuff. As light as possible.
[17:28] So that. There's no baggage there. To hold them back. And what's amazing. Actually. Is. That. What Laura was telling me. I kind of knew already.
[17:39] Because. I read it in the Bible. Because. Paul. The apostle Paul. He writes about. The Christian life. He talks about. The Christian life.
[17:50] As being like a race. And he talks about. Throwing off. All the. The things. That would hold us back. Not taking off our suits. Or our jeans.
[18:00] Or putting on. Rony clothes. But he was talking about. All the things. That stop us being. An active. An active Christian. So things like. Trying to get rid of our temper. And.
[18:11] Trying to kind of. Live better than what we're doing. Trying to be. A better person. Trying. To kind of. Pray more.
[18:22] Read more of God's word. Talk more about Jesus. All these things. Is what. We need. To put on. And then.
[18:33] We have to put other stuff. All the rubbish. We need to put it off. If we're going to be effective. For him. And if we're going to run the race. And. He also talks about the race. Sometimes.
[18:44] It's a long race. And. We feel like giving up. Yeah. And. He says. But no. We have to carry on. It doesn't matter how long it is. We need to carry on.
[18:55] We need to persevere. And he says. Other times. It's a bit like the hurdles. Have you watched the hurdles? At the Commonwealth Caves? You're running. And then you're jumping over these hurdles. And the Bible says.
[19:05] Can a life. The Christian life. Is like that as well. Kind of. There are hurdles there. And they're there to trip us up. And they're there to stop us. Kind of moving on. And we have to make sure.
[19:16] That we. We climb over all these hurdles. And that's difficult. Really. Really. Really. Really difficult. But. Paul says that. At the end. What did Laura Muirwin last night?
[19:30] Bronze. Bronze. A bronze medal. And the person who won it. Got a gold medal. And in the Bible. It says that. At the end of the race. At the end of this race. The Christian race.
[19:41] God gives. A crown. Not just a medal. But a crown. And that crown. Involves living with him. For the rest.
[19:52] Of our existence. Forever. And ever. And ever. And again. That's really hard to. Hard to think about. And hard to imagine. But that. At the end of the race. That is what we get. And what's amazing about.
[20:03] The Christian race. Is. That. In Laura Muir's race. Last night. There are only three medals. Gold. Silver. Bronze.
[20:15] God says. Through the Bible. That those who are in the Christian race. And those who kind of. Finish. And go across the line. At the end. They all get. This crown.
[20:26] This gold crown. Isn't that amazing? Do you want one? Well. If you do. Remember. What you have to put off. Put off all the nastiness.
[20:37] And all the horrible stuff. And try and deal with that. And ask God to help you. Deal with that. And we all need to do that. As adults. We need to do it every day. We need to ask God. God. Oh. Oh.
[20:47] I messed up again. God. Come on. I need your help here. I said bad things about that question. I shouldn't have thought these things. God. God help me.
[20:58] And then there are other things that come in our way. There's hurdles. Oh. Man. I need your help God. To get me through this. This is tough for me. My exams in school or something.
[21:10] God. I really need your help. And then we need to carry on. And God. Take us through. Over the finishing line. So. As you. Continue to watch.
[21:21] The games. And as you think about. Life. Just. Think about. The Christian life that you're running. You're here today. Because you're going to put on something good.
[21:34] You're trained here. This is your training. You're not at the 60 morning. Thankfully. But you're here. And you're here to be trained. Because you're going to learn more about Jesus. And more about what you need to be a Christian.
[21:45] And more about what you need to be a Christian. And more about what you need to live. The Christian life. Okay. Good. Good. Good. Good. We're going to sing. Mission Praise. It's a prayer.
[21:56] And it's a commitment from our part. And it's Mission Praise number 272. I have decided to follow Jesus. Because Jesus. I tell you. It's the best person ever to follow.
[22:08] So let's stand. And let's sing. Good. Good. Good. Good. Good. Good. Good. Good. Good. Good. Good. Good. Good. Good. Good. Good. Good. Good. Good. Good. Good. Good. Good. Good. Good. Good. Good. Good.
[22:20] Good. Good. Good. Good. Good. Good. Good. Sure.
[22:31] Good. Good. Good. Good. Good.
[22:50] The world behind me, the cross before me No turning back, no turning back Though none go with me, I still will follow Though none go with me, I still will follow Though none go with me, I still will follow No turning back, no turning back Will you decide now to follow Jesus?
[23:34] Will you decide now to follow Jesus? Will you decide now to follow Jesus?
[23:45] No turning back, no turning back No turning back No turning back No turning back No turning back No turning back Let's hear God's word Our reading this morning is from the book of Exodus And it's verses 1 to 15 in Exodus chapter 3 Moses and the burning bush Let's hear God's word together
[25:00] 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 desert And came to Horeb, the mountain of God There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush Moses saw that the bush was on fire It did not burn up So Moses thought I will go over and see this strange sight Why the bush does not burn up When the Lord saw that he had gone over to Luke God called to him from within the bush Moses, Moses And Moses said Here I am 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
[26:02] Because he was afraid to look at God The Lord said I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt I have heard them cry out because of their slave drivers And I am concerned about their suffering 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 Perisites Hevites And Jebusites And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me And I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them So now go I am sending you to Pharaoh To bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt But Moses said to God Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh And bring the Israelites out of Egypt?
[26:59] 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 will worship God on this mountain 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?
[27:25] Then what shall I tell them? 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 God also said to Moses Say to the Israelites The Lord, the God of your fathers The God of Abraham And the God of Isaac And the God of Jacob Has sent me to you This is my name forever The name by which I am to be remembered From generation To generation Amen And may the Lord Add his own blessing On this His own holy And inspired word We are going to Praise God now And the singing will be In Gaelic And it is Psalm 105 again And we are going to sing From verses 13 Down to verse 14 Psalm 105
[28:25] Reading from verse 105 Sorry Sorry from verse 13 While yet they went from land to land Without a sure abode And while through sundry kingdoms They did wander far abroad Yet notwithstanding suffered he No man to do them wrong Yet for their sakes He did reprove kings Who were great and strong Right through to the end of verse 14 So Psalm 105 in Gaelic Verses 13 To 14 Moved by Ramos Sorry from verse 15 To the end of verse 15 This ultimate
[29:27] CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS
[30:29] CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS
[31:57] CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR diyor CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SING CHOIR AS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SING CHOIR SING CHOIR SINGS spirit to minister to us and father this we pray in jesus name amen someone once wrote that god created us in his own image and ever since we've been returning the favor by creating him in our image and i suppose when you think of it that is so true for all of us isn't it what is god like who is the true god there's a lot of talk in our day and always has been about god people are always talking about god even people who don't believe in god talk about god people all over the world they talk about god yet i wonder if they actually stop and think about the god that they're talking about is the god that they have in their mind's eye is he the same god that we find in scripture and i suppose even as christians there is the danger that many of us can operate with just a god of our own making a god of our own conception who is god what is his name as i said there's a lot of confusion about this central question both in secular society and in the church and these are the very questions that moses wants answers to i'm going to read again these verses from exodus 3 verses 13 to 15 because i think they're three of the most monumental foundational and awe-inspiring verses in all the bible that reveal to us who god is verse 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 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 god also said to moses say this to the people of israel the lord the god of your fathers the god of abraham the god of isaac and the god of jacob has sent me to you this is my name forever and thus i am to be remembered throughout all generation here god reveals to us something of his his pre-eminence and his personality realize what prompts the question here from moses well back in genesis remember how
[36:08] famine spread in the land the people of israel had to go down to egypt to to avoid the famine because joseph was there god had placed joseph there and there was abundance there and through his visions joseph was able to to help out and all his people went there and they settled there and things were going on really well there for for quite some time but then joseph died time kind of went by there was another fair on another pharaoh and as these pharaohs these other pharaohs came to power they didn't remember joseph they didn't remember their history and as the israelites began to grow in numbers the pharaoh got a bit worried and he wanted to curb their growth so he asked that well he first of all he tried by hard labor he tried he had them taken as slaves he tried to kill them through hard labor it didn't work they just carried on multiplying and then he tried to kill them by asking the midwives to kill the babies and when that didn't work he gave a royal decree commanding that everyone in egypt that he'd take their baby boys israelites and throw them into the nile and and we all know the story of of moses don't we he was his parents were people of faith they feared god they made a basket they put moses into the basket and they he drifted down the nile only to be a end to end up at the doorstep of pharaoh's daughter and for 40 years she was raised as a kind of prince in the household of pharaoh and after another 40 years he saw what was happening to his people in egypt and one day he tried to break up a dispute that was going on between a hebrew and his taskmaster and he struck the egyptian and he killed him and of course the egyptians found out about this moses had to flee he winds up in the desert of midian there he finds his wife they have a family he has to live with his father-in-law for another 40 years in this pagan country far away from his people far away from his god and after those 40 years he's on the far side of this mountain in in median and one day he's minding his own business and he sees this bush but what's amazing about the bush it's it's on fire but it is not being consumed and a voice speaks to him and says go go to egypt you will set my people free moses he says to moses and moses of course says who me who am i that i should go god not sure he actually knows at the time that is god and god says i'm not interested in who you are moses i want you to be interested in who i am you see god is a god who wants to make himself known this morning in here god wants to make himself known doesn't matter who we are didn't matter who moses was god says to us we don't i don't care who you are but i want you to know who i am of course moses didn't realize at the time what was going on he just happened to see this spawning bush out of the corner of his eyes he might have seen something like that before apparently in the
[40:10] veld in south africa it's quite common for bushes just to to go on fire but of course they burn out it's so hot a couple of weeks ago you you wouldn't kind of credit it now but a few weeks ago there were there were fires in scotland because of the heat either someone's left a bottle and the the through the glass the sunshine has lit the heather or the grass or someone carelessly has discarded a a barbecue so it wasn't a it was a quite an ordinary sight but what wasn't ordinary was that it didn't burn up and moses goes to take a closer look and then the voice comes out of the bush and basically tells him to stop in his tracks he said moses stop and moses takes off his shoes why because he's told that this is holy ground you see this was no ordinary tuesday and this was no ordinary bush for moses on that day what we have here is one of the the rare occurrences in scripture it signals that a major turning point is his in history has been reached we have here what's called a theophany god revealing himself in all his splendor and all his glory a visible manifestation of the invisible god and the first thing god tells moses to do is to stop right where he is do not come any closer moses god said take off your sandals for the place you're standing on is holy ground and what makes that place special isn't the place itself it's the person who occupies the place it's god it is holy because god is there and god is holy in the same way here we are on holy ground this place is holy not not because of where we are not because of the building this place is holy because god is here and god wants us to approach him in the same way to take off our sandals because we are on holy ground we are in the presence of almighty god that small word holy quadosh literally means cut off separate it's saying that god is utterly distinct utterly separate from anything that we can imagine or conceive by virtue of who he is he is eternal he is an infinite being he is morally perfect he is everything that we're not and he reveals himself to moses and the place is holy because god is there and i think there's a lesson for us here when we come to worship with regard to how we come you see when we come to worship we need to tread very carefully we need to lay our own preconceived ideas of who god is outside the door we need to come in and we need to listen to the voice of god speak to us the god who reveals himself in all his splendor and all his power we come into the presence of god not on our terms but on god's terms and that's why moses had to tread lightly that's why he had to remove his shoes he is on holy ground
[44:11] and if you and i are to really know this god and if we're to relate to him then we need to tread very carefully too and we need to lay our own preconceived ideas to the side and then we discover that actually the god that we are confronted with is so much greater so much merciful so much much more loving much more everything that we could ever imagine and we discover that far from being a distant faceless god he is a god who delights in relationships a god who cares and that's what we find here and we see it in three ways the first discovery we make is we discover that he's a god with our people this is a fact that separates god from all the other gods of egypt and all the other would-be gods or religious leaders the world has ever known and ever will know you see all all these pseudo-gods they have followers none of them have a people we see this fulfilled of course we see it kind of reflected in the old testament but we see it fully revealed in the new testament we see it fulfilled in jesus and the new birth in the new testament to be a christian is to be born anew into the family of god to be a child of god born anew by the holy spirit adopted into god's family adopted into his family he's a god with our people that's why he says to moses i am the god of your father the god of abraham the god of isaac the god of jacob at this moses hid his face because he was afraid to look at god now what's all that about well moses knew what it was about remember where moses is his the backside of midian tending sheep he was aware of the history of the israelites of joseph of his father jacob isaac abraham he was aware of the promise that god had made to abraham all these years ago that through abraham eventually this blessing would stream to the whole world and of course where are they now they're they're languishing in egypt they're they're slaves and they've been stuck there for for for over 400 years so what's happened to the promise is it ever going to materialize how can this god who who speaks to moses here how can he refer him himself as the god i am the god of abraham when this promise hasn't been realized but the amazing thing is that be it four weeks four years or 400 years god will fulfill his promise in his own way and in his own time you see with god there's no kind of shelf life there's no kind of sell by date that doesn't exist for the promises of god god's promises will be fulfilled god never fails to deliver on his word he doesn't have a reverse gear where he pulls things back that's why god is so utterly dependable and he says
[48:11] i will make a great nation of abraham and the whole earth will be blessed he'll do it and four centuries in egypt is no barrier to god god is working his purposes out and we need to remember that and know that in these days that we're living in that's the first thing it means to be a god with our people he's a god who has proved himself to them faithful in the past but there's another implication which gives us hope not just for today but for the future you see to be the god of means possessing being in a relationship with a people so i can say i am the father of christopher and i'm the father of patricia it means that there is a christopher and a patricia that exists who i'm father to i'll always be their father no one else can ever be their father doesn't matter where i am or where they are now this is to state the blindingly obvious is it not but it makes a profound point which are many in our day desperately need to hear if you are a child of god today you will be a child of god tomorrow you will always have his unwavering love you will always experience his faithfulness because you belong to him he is your heavenly father in matthew 22 verse 32 jesus had a debate with a group of theological liberal leaders who scoffed at the idea of eternal life and life after death and jesus said and jesus said to them you are in error because you do not know the scriptures nor the power of god have you not read what god said to you and note how a word in the bible in the past is god's word for us today to you have you not read that god said to you i am the god of abraham isaac and jacob and jesus says he is the god he's not the god of the dead but of the living not i was the god of abraham or i will be the god of abraham i am present tense i am the god of abraham he is the god to whom abraham is still there for god is there for abraham even though abraham hasn't been around for years god still possesses him actually now they're closer than ever before because it insinuates that he lives now with god you see god accepts a duty of care for his people not just in this life but in the life to come that's why as christians christians who lose loved ones in christ knows that for them death is in fact life it's not the end those he had previously kept by faith he will keep by faith in the future for there's no to be no life if there's no life after death if there's no resurrection at the end of time well that would mean that god's failed on his promise would it not and that simply just can't be so if
[52:12] you're a christian today you'll be a christian tomorrow you'll be a christian in a trillion years time when all that's happening just now and you and me were a footnote to history god will still be our god because god keeps his promise for god to be the god of ean or the god of margaret or james or david that's what it means not just for time but for eternity we belong to him there will never be a time when we don't belong to him and if you belong to him this morning that is fantastic isn't it what confidence it gives for the future we don't know what lies ahead we can't see but we know who holds the future and we know who holds me isn't that amazing secondly the god of the bush is the god with a heart the niv is very weak on this point it should read i have certainly 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 and in verse 9 and now the cry of the israelites has reached me and i have seen the way the egyptians are oppressing them the omniscient god sees and knows everything the idea of sin and their misery here is not just the idea of god looking out with binoculars and seeing what's happening to the israelites in egypt it's much much more than that it's god not god just seeing their suffering but god himself coming down and entering with them into that suffering his heart goes out to them because they are his people they're actually the apple of his eyes these israelites being mistreated in egypt he's not a god who stands outside our pains outside our turmoils outside our trials looking in but mysteriously he becomes he comes into these pains and these trials and these turmoils and what a difference that makes maybe some of you here awake in the middle of the night because of concerns about yourself or about others in anguish well god was there with you if you belonged to him god was with you he's not only aware of what you're going through he's there with you upholding you getting you over that hurdle as you run the race with perseverance and with patience what great comfort that brings to us does it not i know the pain of my people i hear their screams god says i'm concerned about their suffering and i have come down to rescue them from the hands of the egyptians and i'm going to bring them to a land which is going to flow with milk and honey a good and spacious land why because they somehow deserved it well hardly given that given the first opportunity they ditch their god as fast as they can in egypt they get lulled by the gods of egypt it is because he is a god who has a heart the israelites love for him had waned in egypt but not his steadfast everlasting love for them you see here he's
[56:12] meeting with moses not just to give moses a religious experience an amazing religious experience but he's meeting with moses to give him a divine commission because god cares about these people and he wants to save them and he wants to bring them out he's not encountering moses here to make moses's dull life exciting he's commissioning him to go and save his people in israel moses you are going and you are going to proclaim the gospel good news i am sense i think that's the kind of god i can worship so we know that this is a god with a heart because he's also a god with a name and that name tells us something about his character i am who i am i am has set me to you that's the answer to your question moses with regard to who i am if you go to the israelites that is what you say i am sent you when you go to pharaoh that is what you what you say you see they wanted to know more about this god they didn't just want to know his name they wanted to know his character and in these days names represented the character of the person who held the name it was not just identification it was authenticity what is god saying here describing himself in this way as the great i am well he isn't saying i was he isn't saying one day i will be remember the first three words of the bible they're there for a reason you know sometimes we kind of quote four words the first four words but actually we need to stop at the third in the beginning god then god created god was there before creation he's always been there he always will be there he was there before time began he was there when he started creating he will be there when he comes to wrap up time he will be there beyond that the great i am this is important because this is a test of authenticity can this be said of muhammad can it be said of the buddha can it be said of any other world religious leader or philosopher who has ever lived and died of course not like john brown there are moulding in their grave can it be said of the god with a small g who's depicted in liberal theology depicted as impotent and not supernatural of course it can't you see we can't create jehovah god in our own image he's not like the gods of egypt be they fertility gods or god of the harvest or whatever they are consigned to the past even today these gods of egypt and there were numerous gods in egypt when these rites were there where are they now the gods that are around today where will they be in a hundred years time the people that people are following where will they be when they die jesus what god is saying here is i am remaining constant
[60:12] yesterday today and forever what i promise to go to our people with john calvin observed it it will not be far from the truth if we suppose that the faith both of moses and the israelites had grown somewhat faint and rusty like a church that still has the embers of truth but they have forgotten their first love they've grown dull the people of israel no longer remember the god of their fathers so he says tell them i am tell them my name because this is who i am do not forget this is what it means for god to be god i am your god i have been your god i will be your god i am the only god the self existent transcendent independent great i am jehovah this is the god you worship this morning in conclusion we see his name and this name for god is also tied up with another name the name jesus the lord jesus again in john's gospel in chapter eight the pharisees are disputing jesus credentials and he said to them your father abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day he saw it and was glad and in verse 57 you're not 50 years old they said to him and you've said you've seen abraham very truly i say to you jesus answered before abraham was born i am the same description at this they picked up stones to stone him but jesus hid himself slipping away from the temple crowds and that same i am is here with us today as well through the power of the holy spirit and he's saying to you i've seen your suffering i've heard i've heard turn to me the great i am no wonder he could promise i will be with you even to the very end of the age you see there is only one true god and the true god has ones that is the true god we worship here this morning this is the true god who's worshipped here every sunday remember i said he's a god who reveals himself jesus doesn't
[64:13] try to hide himself he's here this morning he's revealed to you he's revealed to me and he makes a promise he says i know you're suffering not only do i know it but i can help you in it and i feel for you in that suffering whatever that is and he calls each one of us this morning to himself to follow him to be his people to receive him to receive his forgiveness to receive his peace he carries those wounds for you
[65:26] God he love me on who takes us where we are and who, just like Moses, who wants to empower us, who wants to give us a whole new vision of who you are and what you want us to do for you.
[66:08] So, Father, bless your word to us today, we pray as we offer it in Jesus' name. Amen. Now, closing hym is number 1072 in Mission Praise, 1072 in Christ Alone.
[66:45] My hope is found, he is my light, my strength, my song. This cornerstone, this solid ground, firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
[67:05] What heights of love, what depths of peace, when fears are stilled and strivings cease.
[67:17] My comforter, my all in all, here in the love of Christ I stand.
[67:28] Amen. In Christ alone, who took on flesh, fullness of God in hell's life's fame, this bit of love and righteousness, scorned by the ones he came to save.
[68:01] Till on that cross, as Jesus died, the wrath of God was satisfied.
[68:13] For every sin on him was laid, here in the death of Christ I live.
[68:23] There in the ground his body lay, light of the world by darkness slain, then bursting forth in glorious day, up from the grave he rose again.
[68:57] And as he stands in victory, since Christ has lost its grip on me, for I am his and he is mine, all through the precious blood of Christ.
[69:19] No guilt in life, no fear in death, this is the power of Christ in me.
[69:40] From life's first cry to final death, Jesus commands my destiny.
[69:51] No power of hell, no scheme of man, can ever pluck me from his hand.
[70:02] Till he returns or calls me home, here in the power of Christ I'll stand.
[70:26] Go in peace and may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, rest and abide with us all and with all who we love, now and forevermore.
[70:38] Amen.