Greetings again my Brethren. Let us continue to look at God’s character so we can align ourselves to what He looks like, How He moves, how He operates and yes even how He loves. Unless we can become like Him (as seen in the person of Jesus Christ) we will never be able to do the things He does. So many Christians today want God’s power, but do not want to align with His nature and character. Will a father give his disobedient children his goods? I think not. Well God is no different. did you know that God’s number one focus in our lives is not how long we can speak in tongues, how much money we give to the church, the hours of long hard work given to the church, or even how much we sacrifice, oh no God’s number one focus (also is God objective) in our lives is how much we look like His dear precious Son Jesus Christ. To be able to represent the King we must act like the King and for us to act like the King we must allow the King to reveal Himself to us. This month we will look at two more areas, His identity and His compassion. Nowhere in the Bible do I believe God’s identity is defined more than in Moses first meeting with God on Mount Sinai. In Exodus we read, “And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. 4And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. 5 And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. 6 Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.” (Exodus 3:3-6) Right from the start we see the nature and character of God in action. When Moses turned “aside” God called Him. Whenever we make time for God He will make time for us. God was watching and waiting for Moses to spend some time with Him. One of God’s identity is of a loving Father who wants to spend time with His children, if only they would stop and find time for Him. Our four kids are married and off to their lives with their spouses and family, but that does not blunt the hole in our heart that is filled when they come for a visit. Our heavenly Father is the same and when we come He lavishes us with His gifts. I find it interesting that Moses knew who he was talking with from the start because his response was, “Here am I.” As a “father” would do God gave Moses a test to see if he could be obedient and receive what the Father had for him. His test was to take off his shoes making him a slave, only non slaves wore shoes. What a picture of God’s love and His identity. God gives Moses his reward, “I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Knowing these names told Moses all he needed to know of God. He knew of the greatest of these men and how God provided for them and if He did it for them then He would do it for him. That was all he needed to know of God and who He took care of. I really like Moses’ response, “And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.” Moses knew who he was talking to and his sin of killing the Egyptian and others was before him and he could not stand. What a wonderful position to be in when God speaks to us. This is what God said of Moses, “(Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.) (Numbers 12:3) Here God is thinking (what the parenthesis mean) to Himself about Moses. Oh that God would have such thoughts for us, well for this to happen we will have to have a heart dealt with by God like Moses’ was. And second we see God’s compassion moving here. In verse seven of Exodus 3 we read, “And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; ” (Exodus 3:7) God told Moses He has seen the affliction, heard their cry, and knows their sorrows for the last 430 years, a lot to be said about the longsuffering of God here, but now God has decided to intervene in the situation. Compassion is a quality that comes out of strength. It take great strength to give compassion where lives are affected for the better and real change can happen. Most people want a quick fix (me included at times) to problems that only lead to other and bigger problems like throwing money at problems that build a dependence (like welfare) on the system to take care of them instead of allowing God to lift them up by their boot straps and make a real change in their lives. Here God moves on the behalf of Moses and the people he will lead out of bondage, but as we see as Exodus unfolds their belief and thinking was still in Egypt to provide life for them. Surely 430 years was a long time. God’s type of compassion always makes a difference in the situation if we can apply our faith and belief toward God. Yet God is still there for us as He was for Moses, this my friend is nice to know.
Next month we will continue to look at more areas Moses had to allow God to reveal to Him (of His character) by way of preparation for ministry. Think not these areas are just for Moses, oh no. All who would be called into ministry MUST allow God to reveal them for the work of God to come. Do you hear Him call now?
