Kansas City, Missouri, United States - Reflecting God – Embrace Holy Living - “Calls to Ministry” – Monday, 7 July 2014 - Scripture: Exodus 3:1-15

Kansas City, Missouri, United States - Reflecting God – Embrace Holy Living - “Calls to Ministry” – Monday, 7 July 2014 - Scripture: Exodus 3:1-2 Moses was shepherding the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. He led the flock to the west end of the wilderness and came to the mountain of God, Horeb. The angel of God appeared to him in flames of fire blazing out of the middle of a bush. He looked. The bush was blazing away but it didn’t burn up.
3 Moses said, “What’s going on here? I can’t believe this! Amazing! Why doesn’t the bush burn up?”
4 God saw that he had stopped to look. God called to him from out of the bush, “Moses! Moses!”
He said, “Yes? I’m right here!”
5 God said, “Don’t come any closer. Remove your sandals from your feet. You’re standing on holy ground.”
6 Then he said, “I am the God of your father: The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob.”
Moses hid his face, afraid to look at God.
7-8 God said, “I’ve taken a good, long look at the affliction of my people in Egypt. I’ve heard their cries for deliverance from their slave masters; I know all about their pain. And now I have come down to help them, pry them loose from the grip of Egypt, get them out of that country and bring them to a good land with wide-open spaces, a land lush with milk and honey, the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite.
9-10 “The Israelite cry for help has come to me, and I’ve seen for myself how cruelly they’re being treated by the Egyptians. It’s time for you to go back: I’m sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the People of Israel, out of Egypt.”
11 Moses answered God, “But why me? What makes you think that I could ever go to Pharaoh and lead the children of Israel out of Egypt?”
12 “I’ll be with you,” God said. “And this will be the proof that I am the one who sent you: When you have brought my people out of Egypt, you will worship God right here at this very mountain.”
13 Then Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the People of Israel and I tell them, ‘The God of your fathers sent me to you’; and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ What do I tell them?”
14 God said to Moses, “I-AM-WHO-I-AM. Tell the People of Israel, ‘I-AM sent me to you.’”
15 God continued with Moses: “This is what you’re to say to the Israelites: ‘God, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob sent me to you.’ This has always been my name, and this is how I always will be known.
“Calls to Ministry” by Wil Watson
Picture a football game with the coach of one team on the field, engaging the opposite team in gridiron battle. He is getting battered, bruised, and mangled. Where is his team? They are on the sidelines—cheering, clapping, and criticizing. Seem preposterous? Yes! Yet, that is how some churches operate. They hire a preacher to fight the ministry battle. While they watch, cheer, clap, and yes, criticize on the sidelines.
God’s game plan for the church puts everyone on the field. Every Christian is called to ministry. There are no exceptions. You don’t need a special “call.” God does choose some, like Moses, for special assignments. Moses wasn’t exactly thrilled to be sent back to Egypt. He tried to talk his way out of it with a variety of excuses. God, however, refused to take “no” for an answer.

When God gives orders, He supplies resources. He did for Moses; He will for you and me. Our mission is not solo. The promise is still, “I will be with you” (Exodus 3:12). Whether it’s general ministry or special assignment, we can count on Him!

Hymn for Today:

“How Firm A Foundation” by John Rippon’s Selection of Hymns(Author: K.; Author (attributed to): George Keith; Author: R. Keen (c. 1787))
1. How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
is laid for your faith in God's excellent Word!
What more can be said than to you God hath said,
to you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?
2. "Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed,
for I am thy God, and will still give thee aid;
I'll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.
3. "When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
the rivers of sorrow shall not overflow;
for I will be near thee, thy troubles to bless,
and sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.
4. "When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
my grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply;
the flame shall not hurt thee; I only design
thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine.
5. "The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose,
I will not, I will not desert to its foes;
that soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I'll never, no, never, no, never forsake."
Thought for Today:
“There’s a big difference between working for God and letting Him work through you”(Gary Henecke).
Prayer Needs:
May people in Malawi will come to know Jesus the Christ, Yeshua the Messiah, and receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit.
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