Live Free with Josh Howerton - Availability over Ability | Ep. 152 | Tuesday September 5, 2023

Episode Date: September 5, 2023

What happens when the great I AM focuses His love on you? In this episode, Pastor Mike reminds us of God's love and focuses on God's rescue mission for His people in Egypt. Just as He pursued His people then, He relentlessly pursues us despite our sins. God has come down to us; now we should come near to Him. For more information, visit lakepointe.church/dailydrive

Thanks for tuning in to today's Daily Drive with Lake Point Church, a daily dose of God's Word for your morning drive. When the word, not the world, becomes the majority of your week, your life will start to change. For that reason, our prayer is that God will speak to you through today's devotional. For more digital content to feed your faith, visit lakepoint.com slash daily drive. And now let's dive in to today's devotional. A welcome to the Daily Drive podcast. I'm Mike Bro, and we are on day three of a 21-day encounter with God. And we've been looking at an encounter that a guy named Moses had with the living God. We read in Exodus chapter 3 how Moses was this guy hiding out in the wilderness on the backside of a mountain called Sinai.

He was a former prince of Egypt, but he's now this disgraced fugitive in the middle of nowhere tending sheep. Just when he probably thought this would be his life for ever a house. many years he would live, God shows up. And he gets Moses' attention with this desert bush that will not burn up. Well, Moses sees it, super curious, so he goes to check it out. Now, later on, Moses would know that this bush represented the inextinguishable God. I mean, in the moment, if he would have been real perceptive, he would say, wow, this is God communicating to me. And he is a self-combusting, never burning out eternal flame, right in front of me. Right in the middle of nowhere is a self-existent, holy transcendent, infinite God burning brightly.

But instead he says, dang, that's weird. I'm going to check that out. And from the bush, the inextinguishable God calls his name. And Moses replies with a simple, here I am. And we challenged each other to pray that simple response during the next 21 days. God is constantly calling our name. And our humble response is key to knowing him. and I'm learning that God is less interested in my ability as he is my availability.

So that's a good prayer. Okay, here I am. We saw yesterday how God tells Moses that he's standing on holy ground and needs to take off his shoes, and we proposed that what God was trying to communicate was, I want to get skin on skim with you. I'm a personal God. I'm the redeemer of unholy people who think they have gone too far. And then God tells Moses just who it is that's talking.

to him. God says this, Exodus 3, verse 6. He said, I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob. I've been around a long time. My track record is pretty amazing. I'm the one who made that promise to Abraham that I would make him into a great nation, and then I would bless the entire world through that nation, through my people. And it says that this Moses hit his face because he was afraid to look at God. Then God tells him, I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt, which is probably the furthest thing from Moses' mind at the time, but not gods. He says, I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers,

and I'm concerned about their suffering. So I have come down. God does this. To rescue them. God does this from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up. God is always doing the coming down and bringing up thing. I will bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey.

And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I've seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. So now go. I am sending you, Moses, to Pharaoh, to bring my people to 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. And God said, it is not about you. Didn't you just hear me say, I'm coming.

down and I'll bring them up. It's not about you. I'm going to do it. And God says to Moses, I'll be with you. I'll be with you. I'm just asking you to lead. The people will know that it's me that's orchestrating all of this. And it's proof when all of a sudden done, you will all come back to this very mountain and you will worship me. Moses, it's all about my compassion and my power, my strength. Oh, I want to use you. But they will all see that I am moving, that I am. You know. And then I love this. Moses says to God.

Now, suppose I go. Don't you love this? He's not saying yes. He's just saying, okay, hypothetically speaking, God, if I were to do this, suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, the God of your fathers has sent me to you, and they ask me, okay, so what's his name?

Then what am I going to tell him? And God says this to Moses. I am, who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites. I am has sent me to you. Man, that just gives me chills. Every time I read it. To Moses, God simply says, tell them, I am.

I have always been, I always will be. Tell them be sent you. I am yesterday to day, forever, generation to generation. There has always been, will always be one constant. I am. That's my name. You know what, gang, this is huge. me getting a proper perspective on myself?

Because if he is, I am, then I am not, right? I mean, he is big. I am not. He is great. I am not. He is awesome. I am not. He is holy. I am not. He is eternal. I am not. He is infinite. I am not. He is perfect. I am not. He is pure. I am not. He is wisdom. I am not. He is knowledge. I am not. He is sovereign. Oh, I am not. I got the good one on a field trip with my son's fifth grade field trip, class to go to a planetarium. You ever been to a planetarium?

You go outside as like a big dome room, and you see all the planets in constellations, you see the universe, and the galaxy, it's pretty amazing. And I remember sitting there, just looking at all these stars and all these planets, thinking, now where is Earth? And it's like, oh, it's that little speck right there. and oh my goodness

where's the United States it's a speck on that speck and my town is a speck on that speck on that speck and my house is a speck on that speck on that speck on that speck and I am just a speck on a speck on a speck and it made me think of that verse and the songwriter wrote me and says who am I like who am I God

that you would be mindful of me oh when I think about my God Who made the stars and named them, Who took earth and sea and framed them, Pulled back ocean tides, restrained them, Breathe life into his own and claimed them? When I think about my God who before he gave the wind direction, before he assigned the moon's reflection,

before he painted the leaves complexion, and settled on us as his main affection, who despite our rebellion pursued us, Those sins skewed us, viewed us priceless, chose not to exclude us or let grace elude us but instead came to us in a smelly barn a baby born held by teenage hands God showed up in just his way to fulfill his plan you see he heard us crying pining hiding dying in her sin so in unblemished love God slipped into our skin and the great I am became flesh and the greatest became least and swaddling

clothes were wrapped around a heaven's highest priest oh holy Night. Oh, night divine, when Jesus came into this world for your sin and mine. Now sin, cannot choke us, crush us, or beat us. Shame will not conquer, condemn, or defeat us. We are alive because he is alive. We rise up because he is risen. We know love because he first loved us. I am loved by the great I am. Amen. I am praying you would begin to experience his love in deeper and deeper ways. See you next time. Thanks for tuning in today. For more biblical teaching and worship, join us for our church online live weekend services on Saturdays at 6 p.m. and Sundays

at 9.30 and 11 a.m. Central Standard Time. Also, if this podcast was helpful to you, would you be sure to rate, review, and share this podcast to help get the word out. For more information about all digital ministries of Lake Point, visit lakepoint.compt.combe.combe.com slash daily drive.