God Initiates. We Respond.

Sermon Summary

After two chapters of asking, “Where is God?”, Exodus 3 shifts dramatically. God reveals Himself. Not subtly. Not vaguely. Directly. Moses isn’t searching for God; God finds Moses. The burning bush marks the start of a pattern we’ll see throughout Exodus 3–12: God initiates, humans respond, and through that interplay, God reveals His character, His holiness, and His redemptive plan.

This sermon explores how God draws Moses, how Moses responds, and how this call-and-response dynamic still shapes the way God works with us today.

Big Idea

God initiates; we respond — and in that call-and-response relationship, He invites us into His redemptive work.

Outline

1. God Initiates the Encounter (Exodus 3:1–4)

– Moses is now 80, shepherding Jethro/Reuel’s flock. – Scripture speeds through the quiet years because something significant is about to happen. – God appears in a flame — a bush that burns but is not consumed. – Moses wasn’t seeking God. God sought Moses. – Moses turns aside to look; then God calls his name.

Key truth: God initiates, but often waits for our attention.

2. A Call-and-Response Relationship

– God causes the burning bush; Moses chooses to investigate. – Throughout Scripture, God calls and people respond: Samuel, Gideon, Isaiah, Zacchaeus, Nathanael. – The Holy Spirit’s role (John 16:13–14) is to guide, declare, and draw us toward Jesus. – We were created for this divine rhythm: God acts → we respond → relationship grows.

3. God Reveals His Holiness First (Exodus 3:5–6)

– “Do not come near. Remove your sandals. This is holy ground.” – Before anything else, Moses learns how to approach God. – Worship is the first response: awe, reverence, adoration. – Moses hides his face — the right posture before the Holy One. – We sing each Sunday not for warm-up, but because God commands worship and deserves it.

Application: Can we raise our hands? Can we sing loudly? Can we look a little foolish in worship? He is worthy.

4. God Invites Moses Into His Redemptive Work (Exodus 3:7–10)

– God sees Israel’s suffering and announces He will act. – His plan: deliver His people and establish them in a good land. – God has always been forming a people for His purposes (Genesis 12; Exodus 19; 1 Peter 2:9–10). – Though He could accomplish salvation alone, He chooses to work through His people. – “Come, I will send you…” — God’s invitation becomes Moses’ calling.

5. When God Calls You

A. Pay Attention to Your Attention

– Countless things are trying to grab your focus: causes, crises, influencers, corporations. – Two people respond differently: – One rests because God is initiating something in her life. – The other is anxious because she responds only to human urgency. – Don’t let the loudest voice determine your direction.

Application: God is initiating things in your life — are you noticing? Do you turn aside when God draws your attention?

B. Worship First

– Jesus is worth it. – Love for Him puts everything else in proper order. – Even urgent matters fall under His authority. – Humility before God matters more than our sense of importance.

C. By the Time You Respond, God’s Plan Is Already Moving

– God doesn’t choose us because we are impressive; He chooses out of compassion. – Our part is to join Him in His already-in-motion redemptive plan. – The same plan given to Moses is alive in the church today: establishing a people who will do God’s will and bless the world in the name of Jesus.

Application: This shapes how we pray, how we make decisions, how we respond under stress. If God is calling — are you responding?

Why This Matters

Your life is not random. God initiates encounters, nudges, moments of clarity, disruptions, interest, conviction — burning bushes of all kinds. He waits for you to turn aside, to pay attention, to respond. When you do, worship becomes your first act, and purpose becomes your next. Like Moses, you are being invited into work God has already begun.

Discussion Questions

• What “burning bush moments” has God used to get your attention lately?
• Where do you feel invited into a call-and-response relationship with God?
• Why do you think worship is the first response God asks for?
• How does God’s compassion-based calling (not performance-based) change your view of obedience?
• What part of God’s redemptive work might He be inviting you to join?

Call to Action

Worship deeply. Listen closely. Turn aside when God draws your attention. Then step into the work He is already doing.

Transcript

This transcript was generated automatically from the audio and may contain small errors.

Well, good morning to you guys Okay Okay, see what I'm up against today, all right, I Don't need to ask it twice. You guys have said what you needed to say. We're gonna be in Exodus this morning Okay, we're gonna start Exodus 3 today We're gonna start a new Sermon series still in the book of Exodus, but instead of asking where is God like we did in the first two chapters in Exodus chapters 3 through 12. We're going to meet God We're gonna meet God we spent some time wondering where he is and now we're gonna meet him

Moving through Exodus 3 through 12 as We read about all these different people Meeting God all these these different individuals the different groups of people We're going to need to read those things twice as it were we're not gonna actually read them twice But we need to look at it kind of from two vantage points The first would be as it is as a historical fact The living God drawing someone to himself the living God revealing himself to a person And the second is kind of what it reveals about God's character and his heart and his ways how he does those things, right? He's not doing them at random. He's not just meeting people like you and I meet people He's choosing people he's revealing himself to people he does it in specific ways Not all in the same order. It's not that formulaic, but it is something for us to examine is something for us to Glean from and understand about God's character and his ways in other words

What happens with Moses that we're about to see in chapter 3? What happens with Moses and others will bear some? resemblance on what you and I experience as we meet God As we meet him for the first time as we meet him several different times. So let's dive into Exodus chapter 3 verse 1 and we're gonna see people meet God and we're gonna start with Moses Exes 3 1 It says now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro the priests of Midian and He led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb the mountain of God. Okay First things first Jethro is Reuel. Okay, we've just read about Reuel in

Exodus chapter 2 his name is Jethro now The only explanation that we can kind of see is that maybe it's maybe a family name versus a first name or it's but It's the same guy. That's really all that's important here. It's not two different Reuel and Jethro are not two different people In fact, he's called Reuel again in Numbers He's also called Jethro again in Numbers, so he goes by both names it can be confusing It's simply his father-in-law Moses his father-in-law. Okay, and

Again for reference what we picked up last week Moses is now 80 years old. Okay, not he is 80 Moses is a pretty spry 80 years old. Okay, his father-in-law is so alive and There there's some things that kind of help us understand he's still Relatively kind of making it happen. Okay The Old Testament like we talked about before the Old Testament is going to speed up and slow down at specific points And so we have we have sped past 40 years of Moses being integrated into this family in Midian integrating into life in Midian integrating into being a shepherd in Midian and Then it slows down whenever something significant is about to happen

And so here a slowdown is about to happen Exodus chapter 3 verse 2 and An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush He looked and behold the bush was burning yet. It was not consumed Okay, we're gonna stop down here. Sorry. We're gonna do that a lot. We're gonna go. It's just gonna be kind of choppy this morning We need to pay close attention here God initiates Here, okay, Moses wasn't praying Moses wasn't wondering where God was was it wasn't thinking of the covenant Moses wasn't wondering about his Hebrew Nothing Moses. We did not have God on the brain at all as far as we know But then God is initiating something he finds Moses. He appears to him Moses specifically not looking for God here, but God is initiating something with him

Look at the next verse Exodus 3 3 and Moses said Almost to himself. I will turn aside to see this great site why the bush is not burned. Okay, so Moses notices and Investigates so God's initiating Moses is no noticing and investigating look at verse 4. It says when the Lord saw That he had turned aside to see God called him out of the bush Moses Moses and Moses said here I am So after makes it after Moses makes his move God calls Which is a really interesting sequence there. God is initiating something But then he's waiting on Moses to investigate before he's going to call now. Look, let's not get lost in You know, well, what would happen if Moses hadn't turned aside and notice the bush? Well, it would have been you know, what if somebody else I don't know I don't know this I don't know those answers the text does not give me those answers Those are good questions actually, but the text is highlighting something different

The text is highlighting that God waits on Moses to respond in our lives God is going to initiate things but he will often wait for us to respond Okay, in other words God's going to burn bushes And he's going to help us to notice things Because God's name, this is God's nature to invite us into a call and response relationship The nature of our Creator is to call us into a relationship Not where we just get instructions and do but in a call and response relationship And when you think about it, that's that's every relationship you have Right, if it's a one-sided thing, it's not a relationship and it's a stalker, okay

It's you know, that's you you're guilty. Sorry, you're a stalker. When did you find out you were a stalker? But it's with God in heaven, right? And so how does this work? Because because we don't really have this thought like we're changing his mind or that we're affecting the relationship or that we're doing that We have all this control and power and that's not really what I'm saying either But there is this invitation that God seems really bent on it that that says that we should have a call and response relationship with him Consider the fact that God gives us the Holy Spirit Look at John 16 13 through 14. It'll just be up here. You don't need to turn there If you want to check me you can turn there. Okay When the Spirit of truth comes he will guide you into all truths for he will not speak on his own authority But whatever he hears he will speak so this is the Spirit inside of us, right and he will declare to you the things that are to

Come he will glorify me for he will take what is mine and declare it to you Do you see what the Holy Spirit is doing here guiding declaring glorifying, but he's doing it in us. He's doing it through us We are a part of that equation. Why does God need you to glorify himself? No But we're included in that specifically on purpose The Holy Spirit is doing all those things Because we are created for this dance of call and response

And yes, yes, and I've said it before I'll say it again We avoid the lie that we are somehow controlling God's actions Okay, right God's not a holy vending machine where if we pray these prayers in this order, then we get what we want Okay, that's not what I'm saying and that's not who God is. That's not his character But I am saying that he invites us into a call and response relationship with him where we're listening We have our head on a swivel. We're responding and when we do God Gives us something in return and then we respond then got it It's a back-and-forth kind of thing and this happens all over the Bible When you look at Samuel God God calls his name and he has to check several times like who's calling my name He gets up and he asked the prophet I Hear my name Samuel Samuel But God's not sending like a burning bush. God's not sending an angel. That's not sending anything physical

He's just calling his name makes him you'll get up three times and the the prophet that he's bothering Eli Finally says that's not me calling your name. There's nobody else calling your name. It's God So whenever you hear it again, Samuel Samuel say here here am I like your servants ready Why does God do that Why does he go back and forth with that? Because he's in a call and response relationship This is Gideon whenever he's putting out the fleece in the Old Testament Why is that happening? Why doesn't God say you should just trust me? You don't need that fleece out there It doesn't he didn't do that. He doesn't get reviewed for that at all God goes along with it Look at Isaiah. God is asking openly openly to Eric who who can I send Who is somebody that I can send to to preach my word? Who's who's willing who's available kind of kind of just asking generally and then moat it Moses

Isaiah just sticks his hand up. It's I'm here. I'm here. Send me Zacchaeus in the New Testament sitting in a tree Don't sing the song you want to sing the song don't do it. It's okay. It'll just sidetrack you Zacchaeus is the one sitting in a tree. Jesus calls him down And Zacchaeus is like great. I'm down. What are we doing now? Jesus said we're going to your house Oh, okay, let's go to my house. Well, then what happens? Zacchaeus has this response where he just starts giving all the stuff back that he stole from people right None of these are the same None of these are the same But they all ask us to do something creative in response to what God is doing in us In response to God initiating something God initiates and he's he wants us to respond. He wants to interact with us over this. We need to remember this for later

But it's suffice it to say now God initiates into a call and response. Let's look at what happens next Exodus 3 5 then he said God said to Moses do not come near take your sandals off your feet for the place on which you are standing is holy ground So God reveals himself to Moses Most starting to get the picture here and what comes first God's holiness first First thing God reveals himself and holiness is first One does not simply Come before the throne of God unannounced. This is not something that Moses is waltzing into Look at the next verse verse 6 Exodus 3 And he said I am the God of your father The God of Abraham the God of Isaac the God of Jacob and Moses hid his face For he was afraid to look at God Man, that is how to approach the Lord. We don't we don't need to feel sorry for Moses right here It's not a sad state to be in this is an accurate response to God's holiness

How does Jesus teach us to pray? Our Father who art in heaven Hallowed be thy name right? You know what that means means make your name. Holy Let your name be regarded as separate other Supreme high lift it up apart from me Not have anything to do with me. It's holy God's name is holy and so when Moses is there and he's beholding this when he realizes the situation that he has fallen into His only response should be to hide his face and to take his sandals off

When God is calling and we're responding worship comes first It's adoration of his majesty in his glory and his splendor all of that comes first That God is different and other than us comes first It is a joy and a grace to us that God condescend and meets us where we are But we should not be confused. It's not because we deserve it We can be thankful because we don't deserve it. Moses is acting in a completely appropriate manner Do you ever wonder why we sing every Sunday? Do you think it's to get you in the mood? We sing because God commands it we sing because God deserves it Let me just encourage you as we're singing as we're as we're responding to God as we're doing all those things I just want to encourage you and some of you just seem unsure And so I just want to say it from the front with the Bible open I just want you to hear it, right if you want to put your hands up

Put your stinking hands up If if you it meant if you want to kind of if you want to kind of dance around a little bit do it It's okay It's okay a lot of people are wondering kind of how they're supposed to act and that so they look at the room to know kind of how to act and So some people they want to raise their hands they want to do something they want to shout They want to but they're unsure because they're not they're kind of reading the room and they're kind of listen listen Worship the Lord with abandon do it and for some of you. This is what abandon looks like That's okay Josh would I'm not picking on you too hard okay, but that is your reckless abandon brother. That is exactly what that is some of you Were like that it's fine I'm not trying to call you out and telling you that you need to be you know swinging from the chandelier Okay, what I'm telling you though is that not everybody's like that I get it. I'm not like that

And so look as we praise God Let it be okay to praise God with our bodies Let it be okay to just look a little silly Just let it be okay. It's okay not because we get to look silly, but because God's worth it Right King David whenever he was worshiping the Lord when they brought the ark back To Israel King David like stripped totally naked and danced in front of the ark. That's in the Bible. Okay, that's wild I don't ever want to do that. Okay, I'm not getting ideas. I promise

But but it's enough to say God's God's worth that God's worth that He's worth he's worth you looking dumb He's worth you being a little self-conscious God's worth that God's worth you singing loud when when all everybody around you's like You're just like belt it bro. Just do it. You know Christ is my firm found it just real loud. Okay It's okay So God initiates we go into call and response Worship is our first response There's one more thing one more piece of this and Exodus chapter 3 verse 7

Says then the Lord said I have Surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and I've heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings So God He's calling to us we're responding we're worshiping him what what is God lean into right after that with Moses He leans into his his his part in God's redemptive plan Moses begins to understand almost immediately there is a plan that is in place. It's happening right now. It's bigger than you It's been happening it will continue to happen. Here's your part in that plan He starts with the problem here in the next verse He says the people I love are enslaved look at it Exodus 3 8 Says and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them Out of that land to a good and broad land a land flowing with milk and honey to the place of the Canaanites Hittites the Amorites the parasites the Hivites and the Jebusites

God's solution to this Problem that the whole world is experiencing his solution is this is wild. So pay attention This is his solution He says I'm going to to solve the whole world's problems to enact my plan for redemption That's going to happen a plan that you saw way back in Genesis 12 Genesis 15 again Genesis 17 God is making this covenant with Abraham He's saying I'm gonna bless every family in the world through you

That's the same plan that's happening here. And what is God doing? He's saying I'm going to establish a people My people to be a blessing to other people We're gonna see this happen again and again and again in Exodus So we might as well get used to it now God's big solution to solving the world's problems That's kind of how we would put it God's big solution to solving the world's problems is to establish a people. That's crazy, right?

When I just saw the problem himself Well, it goes back to even what we've already seen that God invites us into this call and response relationship God wants us to be a part of that solution God wants his call and our response To affect the lives of the people around us God is going for that. That's his solution. God is still establishing a people today And you see this you see this all over I already said Genesis 12 We're gonna see it again in Exodus 19. That's gonna be amazing, but it's gonna be in the fall So I'll say it now in Exodus 19 God it's a wedding ceremony like when you actually read what happens in Exodus 19 It's a wedding ceremony where God says you're going to be my people and I'm gonna be your God and here's how it's gonna go and you will be to me a kingdom and a priesthood To the whole world. Let's think about that for just a second God's desire for his people is to be a royal

Priesthood that's Exodus 19 That is God about to give the 10 commandments 10 commandments happen in Exodus 20 Okay, so just in your head This is this is while the smoke and the lightening is on the mountain and God's people are like we're gonna do whatever you want God is saying to them you are gonna be wedded to me and I'm gonna be wedded to you and in this covenant relationship We are going to go forward and you are gonna your whole the whole nation not just the Levites The whole nation is gonna be priests

You know what priests do? priests usher other people into the presence of God God wants a whole nation of people who will be priests to the whole world You might say well, that's kind of a convoluted way to do it. Well, look when you're God you can make up your own rules, okay? You're not so it's kind of obvious but What do we see in first Peter 2 9 to 10 it says says you will be You are a royal priesthood a holy nation That you're called out to declare the excellencies of God God is still establishing his people and he could do it by himself You You know God God did rain manna from heaven God did we're gonna see that in a couple of months in the fall maybe God did put quail every every evening right man every morning quail every evening God led them by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night That was God doing things all by himself. That was God not ushering anybody into that not he's just like no

I'm good. I'm gonna lead. I'm gonna go out in front. I'm gonna hero this thing But God's desire for his people is to include them in his plan in a way that they can react in a way that there is Call and response in a way that you're just not a bump on a log, but that you are made specifically To have a part in his redemptive plan Specifically he could do it all by himself, but he didn't wanna Let's read Exodus 3 verses 9 through 10 Says and now behold the cry of the people of Israel has come to me and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppressed them come I will send you Moses to Pharaoh That you may bring my people the children of Israel out of Egypt. I want to look at a few things here number one This tells you a lot This is a very kind of ancient Near Eastern way to phrase all of this and I think it's just helpful to understand

If you're going to read the book of Exodus, in fact, if you're gonna read anything in the Old Testament, it's going to help to understand That see that that middle sentence when it says and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppressed them See how that feels real redundant Like yeah, we know it's you couldn't we just said like I have seen the Egyptians oppression right What that is doing and what the Old Testament does is it it will restate things for emphasis Okay, it doesn't use the word very very often And so if the Old Testament wants to emphasize something it will put it twice in fact if it wants to say if the Old Testament kind of in this ancient Near Eastern thinking if it wants to say that something is the Best it'll say it three times and that's why when the angels in Revelation are worshiping God, what do they say? Holy holy holy

You know that means that means that God's the holiest When you say things three times It's it's superlative in English. Okay. Sorry. This is a grammar lesson when you say it twice. I don't know what that word is. It's better Comparative is the comparative there you go. So it's You say twice comparative say three. It's it's superlative, but that's why it'll say it that way It'll say for emphasis and and so it's kind of hard to read unless you know that because it just seems super redundant Like why are we adding words here? What's the problem? They're just trying to say what they're saying also also you will notice in verse 9 He's saying now behold the cry of the people of Israel's economy and I've also seen the oppression. Okay

God just said this to Moses two verses ago in verse 7. Okay, if you look at like in verse 7 It says I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and I've heard their cry because of their taskmasters I know their sufferings. So So thank you just responsive slides right here. So then 9 says kind of the same thing So what's going on? Why is God repeating himself? Well In the Old Testament a lot of times that you don't need to like go looking for this all over the place But it is helpful to know that when you and I put together a paragraph in English Okay, this is reflection of our culture how we think so it's not wrong or right It's just different in English what you and I do we add a thesis statement at the beginning of the paragraph Right like the point of the paragraph is is the thesis statement. So so guys when you wrote your Valentine's

Letter to your wife last night you guys did that, right? Oh Okay Well when you should have written, okay Well when you start at the beginning you're saying your main point and then you're adding supportive points underneath right like that's how you should write things in English Okay in Hebrew it ain't like that in ancient or Eastern culture It's different when you want to emphasize something you don't put it at the beginning and you don't put it at the end You put it in the middle That's weird But that's Hebrew so, you know joy. So if you're gonna write something for example, if you're gonna if you're gonna say

This is just a good example. So I'll use my wife's not here so I can't embarrass her but if I wanted to say something like I If I wanted to write a love poem to my wife and I did it in this structure Okay, I would have I would have supporting point number one supporting point number two Emphasis and then I would have a reflective supporting point two and a reflective supporting point one Let me just give you an example. That way it's a little bit less messy. Okay, I'm this is a poem to my wife It's gonna be horrible Your eyes amaze me your lips are beautiful Okay Middle emphasis here. You are the most amazing woman I know and I'm so glad that you're mine Okay, I'll stop supporting point number two

Your your lips Dazzle me every time you talk and supporting point number one reflective. So number one I get lost in your eyes all the time. Okay, so I went eyes lips big point lips eyes Okay, so you're welcome guys. That's homework for tonight. Write your write your wife a Hebrew poem. It's gonna be amazing It's gonna be terrible so So what does that help us do? Well that helps us understand verse 8 so so Exodus chapter 3 verse 8 it says This is what God's emphasizing right? I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and broad land God is emphasizing that because on either side he's saying I know there's a problem. I see the problem verse 7 verse 8 Here's what I'm doing verse 9. I see the problem He's emphasizing the fact that he is going to do something that he's coming That he's going to take them out of that land and put them into a good land

And when you hear that if you see an entire nation In slavery and you you hear God say that you're like, okay, that's wild I don't know if that you sure about that God you sure that's you sure that's what's gonna happen and God's like listen, I've seen it I've seen what they're doing to my people and they're not gonna do it anymore and it's time so then in verse 10 When he's telling him talking to Moses that's come I will send you To Pharaoh that you may bring my people the children Israel out of Egypt

Let's start putting this together when God calls you and And it's happening more than you think When he calls you I want to just give you just three things to just ruminate on the first thing Pay attention to your attention Pay attention to your attention Guys there are so many things that are grabbing for your attention right now right now like even now Like sometimes I'm losing the battle, right? I see it in your eyes You know like you just you just went to like the weekend to-do list, right? You just started thinking about Monday morning like what you're gonna do. I just lost a few of you by saying those two things Okay, pay attention to your attention I will just take the small example of social media like that's a small example In social media You you pop open your phone on Facebook or something. There are plenty of people corporations

Businesses they are initiating all kinds of things They're lighting as many bushes on fire as they possibly can Why because your attention is valuable Right, so they're trying to get your attention. They are initiating things like sales causes Crises how terrible government is Whatever they need to say to get your attention it's called a hook Whatever they want to say to get your attention They're gonna say it because they got something they want to initiate in your life They have a plan that they want you to be a part of That's not familiar So they're saying look crisis over here crisis crisis crisis give five dollars cause cause cause volunteer sale sale sale buy That's what's happening. I want to just illustrate this. Let's just pretend there's two people and

We'll go Jane and Katie hopefully there's no James or Katie's today always try to use like off names, you know, but I'm have to get real creative with some of these, okay, so Jane is responding to God initiating something, right? God has lit a bush on fire in her life She's she's paying attention. She's responding God's initiated. She's responding to it. Katie is not responding to that. She's responding to something else She's responding to a cause right Jane as she is responding to God doing whatever God's doing right? She has the ability the ability the power the capability to rest in the fact that God is Initiating something and that she's responding to it that she's not having to drum it up that it's already happening that God is calling her to do something and she is she is Discerning that she is saying okay. I see this thing God's doing I'm gonna begin to pray

I'm gonna begin to talk to my people. I'm gonna begin to ask questions. I'm gonna look at scripture God's It seems God is initiating something. I'm going to investigate that I'm gonna turn my head to the side and I'm gonna see why this bush is not consumed Okay, if you're not paying attention, you never have that thought if you're paying attention like Katie and she's just responding to this Cause or this crisis Katie has no ability to rest

Why because she's initiating it she Has to go and save whoever from whatever she's responding to another's cause and Anxiety is beginning to well up in her because she just sees this cause she sees something on fire And she's saying God has to fix this now if God loves people he has to go now. This has to all happen yesterday What's wrong? This is this is a travesty No, I'm gonna start posting about it like over and over and over again and like half my friends are gonna leave me But you know what if half my friends quit following me That's okay because I have the right cause like do you see how this happens? This happens a lot and I'm not I just gave you the social media version, but there's a shopaholics version There's there's all kinds Okay of of things Initiating in front of you to get your attention to be over here and all the end all the while the enemy's over here

Doing something over here taking stuff away from you here right You don't see it because you're so distracted by what is going on up here that something's happening right behind you You do not see it and you have anxiety welling up. I shouldn't say that Okay, I just skipped a note. You're welcome I would encourage you I would encourage you as you pay attention to your attention Examine stop and examine what's going on What has you riled up? What's dominating your thoughts? Who's probably trying to fix? Who has initiated something to you that you need to not respond to you because you you can't you can't respond to it all you really can't and I will say it and To all my keyboard warriors out there you and I are not the arbiters of what is important

Because you feel real hard about something doesn't make it the most important thing in the world It doesn't You still even when you're feeling hard you still need to stop and discern and gain wisdom and ask people into It it's not like if you feel it real hard. It must be true That's a terrible way to live you will be burned out because everything's gonna be grabbing for your attention I don't know if you've noticed but like the whole world's on fire Okay, there's problems happening all the time even in just your little circle of people that you know, there's crisis happening Multiply that times everybody else Well good night We're never gonna solve those problems if we feel like all we have to do is just like set up awareness for all of it We can't do it We have to stop and we have to examine what is initiating in our lives Who are we listening to is God initiating these things or is this just a crisis? We're trying to fix

So we just jump from crisis to crisis What is God initiating around you and how are you responding or are you responding? Look God is not a needle in a haystack God's not wondering It's not a it's not some big hard mystery to solve where you you know If you know a lot of Bible, then you can figure it all out. That's not how God works. God is responding He's calling people. He's initiating He's calling out and we are responding in that capacity if God's calling we're responding look at Moses man Moses wouldn't call it out to God There was no altar built as he was as he was keeping sheep He wasn't going anywhere He wasn't saying man if I could only just do something for God in my life. That's not what was happening God came and initiated to him When he wasn't doing any of that You don't need to earn anything you just need to listen and look

You don't need to earn anything you just need to listen and look So pay attention to your attention second thing Worship first Let me just say a few things on this Jesus is always worth it. He's always worth it. I was in the car this morning. I was worried about a lot of things I'm not gonna bore you with it. I just had a lot of things that had been initiated to me that I was like freaking out about and

And I knew I was like man. I'm not I'm not in a great headspace. I need to I Need to just listen to some music. I need to Ask the Lord to help me There's a couple songs that came on and it was just this really gentle reminder of just like hey, man I'm I'm it. I'm worth it You can't fix everything but you got me and I'm enough I mean I just well that was really good that soothed my soul here in the car this morning Nurturing a love for him puts everything else in its place even things that seem urgent or are on fire Even those things that are just crying out for your attention. It's okay

The Lord knows Your biggest concern you and I are biggest concern. This is why we sing every Sunday, right? Our biggest concern should be humbling ourselves before the Lord. That's you that should be it. That should be number one How am I humbling myself before the Lord because he's worth it man. He's good. We're not he's holy. We're not He loves us and we don't deserve it and that's the best news possible

It's the best news possible last thing By the time we are responding God's plan is already in motion. That plan is already in motion God didn't choose us cuz worthy or It's just he just loves us man and in our calling To join him is not our calling to just make up a bunch of religious things to do or to look spiritual or to or to start putting Things on your social media with like hashtag blessed. You don't need to do that That that's not what God is asking you to do. God's asking you to say what's my plan? Get on that train. I Want to bless you in the midst of that. I want you to see things and I want to grow you in the midst of that I want to send you as a delegate an ambassador. I want you to be a part of my people That plan is that same redemptive plan that he's giving to Moses way back in Exodus 3 It's what he gave to Abraham way back in Genesis 12. It's the same redemptive plan. God's plan has not changed

He is establishing his people to go and follow him Ministering to people sacrificially in the lives of others That's really it man. And look I know like for our church We've got like find your family find find clarity find your identity find your calling. Yes. All those things are true. Yes Yes, and good, but all we're really doing is just rewrapping Exodus 3 We're just trying to say Exodus 3 a different way That God is establishing his people if you meet anybody that says like Hey, I'm just gonna worship Jesus from my house or in the woods or I don't need to be a part of a church I don't need the Bible. I don't need whatever I Would submit to you that that person is deluded because they think that All they need that all God is calling them to do is to be a good person But that's not all God's calling us to do. In fact God's calling us because we aren't good people

To be a part of his redemption of other people not not to be perfect and pretty This goes down To the very fabric of how we do everything how we pray how we make plans what we do when we're stressed how? How we raise our children what we dream about for the future I would submit to you this morning God right now is Calling you to do something We're about to spend time in a little bit of prayer And When we do I want you to ask the question seriously of the Lord. What are you calling me to do? I don't have like five answers. It could be I don't have I don't have nothing I consider that to be a pretty holy thing something that God wants to do with you personally He's asking you to respond to something. He's calling you into something He's initiating something. Are you paying attention and are you responding? Let's pray