The Greatness of God

Now please turn with me to the book of Exodus chapter 3. Exodus chapter 3 and we'll read some verses here starting at verse 1. Exodus 3 in verse 1. Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the backside of the desert and came to the mount of God even to Horeb. And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush and he looked and behold the bush burned with fire and the bush was not consumed. And Moses said I will now turn aside and see this great sight why the bush is not burned.

And 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. And he said draw not nigh hither, put thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. Verse 9 says now therefore behold the cry of the children of Israel has come unto me and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them. Come now therefore and I will send thee unto Pharaoh that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.

And Moses said unto God who am I that I should go unto Pharaoh and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt. And he said certainly I will be with thee and this shall be a token unto thee when I have sent thee when thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt ye shall serve God upon this mountain. And Moses said unto God behold when I come unto the children of Israel and shall say unto them the God of your fathers has sent me unto you and they shall say to me what is his name.

What shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses I am that I am. And he said thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel I am have sent you unto God. And God said moreover unto Moses thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel the Lord God of your fathers the God of Abraham the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob has sent me unto you.

This is my name forever and this is my memorial unto all generations. Now that's all we're going to read and we know that God always blesses the reading of his precious Word. Now the first thing I would like to say about this is of course that we in this way we should be like Moses.

Moses was a man that wanted God to use him. He may not have understood God's ways with him. You remember how he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.

And you and I I hope are like that as well. While we're not haven't ever lived in a palace at least I haven't I'm glad that I'm associated with God's people. What a contrast with the environment that he was in.

But yet he said I'm willing that's not the important thing is God and God's people and we've been reminded of that in a meeting already here this morning. So the importance of being with God's people. Now God was going to use this man Moses in a mighty way.

Mightier way than he'll ever use you or me as far as I am me anyhow. But yet he's going to use him in a mighty way and what does he do? He takes him away to the back of the desert. Now I'm not telling you and I hope you don't tell me that I had to serve 40 years in the back of the desert before God could use me in some little way otherwise some of us would still be in the back of the desert somewhere.

But yet we need to spend time with God and we need to get to know God. And one of the things that's very important today and maybe it's lacking amongst us at least in some places and that is reverence. And God was going to teach this man Moses something about reverence.

You know I think we need more reverence among us and we're getting to be so casual today and I think that's not good. We act usually the way we're dressed and so on and we might seem to be very casual but it's a good thing to have reverence. When I met George Patterson here I've known him a while but one time I met him here and his dear wife Fran.

And when Fran was a little girl that's a long time ago because I was a little boy at the same time. And she used to come to the gospel hall where my father and mother were in fellowship the assembly and we sat back. I didn't know her and she didn't know me but she said do you know what I remember about those meetings? It's a place called Ballyhackamore that may seem strange but when we were in Ireland we thought the American names were very strange.

But anyhow she said in Ballyhackamore do you know what I remember more than anything else? I said no but I'm interested. She said reverence. There were 300 people in fellowship most of the time and yet they tiptoed into the meeting.

It's good to remind ourselves of that and another thing maybe they went a little bit overboard but you know when they were passing the emblems when someone give the emblem to someone of course they didn't have to walk around with the emblems because so many people there they wouldn't partake of the emblems till the person sat down. They treated things very very reverently. Maybe that's going a little too far but maybe we don't go far enough.

But anyhow here he is and he turns to see this great sight. You see God says I'm going to have you serve me in a great way but you're never going to be able to serve me in a great way until you see how great a God I am. And that's what I want to speak about mostly about the greatness of God and Moses he wasn't very well he was quite shy at this time and he turned to see this sight and he was told draw not nigh hither put off thy shoes from off thy feet.

He said the ground whereon thou standest is holy ground. Now I'm not telling you that I know if you go to Japan you have to take your shoes off your feet to go into the gospel hall but I'm not telling you to do that. It's not what I have in my in my mind and you know we have a right to stand in God's presence.

I know we say that sometimes we're on hallowed ground and that is right in one way but you know I often think well just think here take thy shoes from off thy feet. Moses you have no right to stand on this ground. There was a man in the book of Ruth and he couldn't redeem Ruth he could redeem the land but he couldn't redeem the woman so I had to take a sandal or a shoe off his foot.

He was saying I have no right to stand in this inheritance I can't redeem it. I think of the Lord of course and he was different. John said to him I'm not worthy to take your shoe from off your foot because the Lord had a right to stand here.

He had creatorial rights all things were made by him and he had redemptive rights but then when it come to the prodigal what what happened to him well he had the robes of righteousness and garments of salvation the best robe a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet. He had a right to stand in the Father's house and we have a right not because of what we are. Moses had no right.

Didn't matter whether he lived in the palace for all those years or not. He didn't have that right. Take your shoes off and then God says now I want you to to go down back into Egypt and I want you to bring my people up out of the land of Egypt.

And you know the kind of people that God uses and God serves are those that don't think they can really do it. That's the kind maybe you think I can't serve God you can't serve God because I don't have the ability. Well you know that's a good start because God is looking for people that don't have any ability of their own.

He's looking for something that he can take up. I'm not saying he can't use a natural ability but it's not just natural ability. God can do that and he's going to raise this man Moses up and Moses said they're not going to listen to me how can I do this I don't have the power to serve thee and to do this great thing.

Oh he said you know do you not know who I am? Do we not know who God is? Even the children of Israel went into the land you know the most of them the spies they said did you not see the how big the Giants were? But Caleb and Joshua they said do you not see how big God is? That's the important thing it's how great God is. We have a great God and no matter what little way he's going to use you or use me he's still a great God. I told I mentioned this the other day.

Mr. William Ferguson one time I was kind of afraid of him. He was one of the old preachers. I hope young people aren't afraid of the older ones today but we had a great reverence for these men but you know he came to the home and he was great in the home.

He was very helpful and I don't remember what he said. I remember what he wrote in the guestbook. God is not only a great God and great things but God is a great God and little things and we need to get hold of that.

It's not that we need God to help us to do something great. We need God at all times and Moses was going to have to learn that and he said God said unto Moses I am that I am and he said you say unto the children of Israel I am hath sent you. I'm the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

That's why he was dealing with these people. It wasn't because of of their merit. It was because for the sake of another.

The promise he made to Abraham and to Isaac and to Jacob and he said I'm the great I am. My that's something. Does that does that fill us with reverence or do we come to become too familiar with these things because you know when we come into the New Testament we read in the Gospel of John of the I am.

That's the gospel of the I am and then it's speaking about the Lord Jesus but but you know it's still the same great one isn't it? Still the same a great person. We shouldn't become familiar with him in that way. I know sometimes you even read it they call him our the Lord our brother.

Don't ever do anything like that. It's it's I know we have the same God and the same Father but it's my God and and your God my father and your father and when we come into the New Testament we have this same wonderful person and those of us saved here by the grace of God surely our desire would be to serve him. But we should remember the one that we're serving.

We don't serve in a haphazard manner. It's not what we what way we think we should serve him. It's not for us to concoct ways to try and even reach out or build bridges to others.

We do it in a scriptural way and we've heard that this morning. It's the gospel. That's how assemblies are planted.

We heard of God's house. We heard of the greatness of the Lord in a place where they were worshipping angels and so on and and so intelligent in their own minds. They forgot about the greatness of the Lord and that's what we want to never forget.

We should always remember him. Now the gospel of John is the gospel of his greatness. You can see that in the woman at the well.

She said to the Lord art thou greater than our father Jacob which gave us a well and drank thereof himself and his children and his cattle. You know the answer to that don't you? Of course he's far greater than Jacob. You could study that you know and go and see the ways that he's greater than than Jacob.

Was he greater than Abraham? Before Abraham was I am. There's another I am. Speaking of the person of the Lord before Abraham.

Why they said you're you're not 50 years old. What do you see? He was there before Abraham was. He didn't say I was but I am.

He's the ever-existing one and he's the only one that was going to be able to help Moses. Bring the children of Israel out of Egypt. Bring them through the wilderness.

He's the only one that can help you. He's the only one that can help me. By implication he was greater than Moses.

Of course he was greater than Moses. You can see that from Exodus 3 but in the New Testament and we'll go into John chapter 6 where you have the the Lord. He said I am the bread that came down from heaven.

Here's the great I am. The bread that came down from heaven. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness and are dead but he said whoever eats of this bread that I shall give him shall never die.

So that's where it all began with us. It's the appropriation of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amazing isn't it? How this great I am could be seen in a manhood.

A man that graced manhood with all the attributes of deity. But he was a man born so humbly into this world. But you know he was always the Lord.

But anyhow we think of the the Lord the bread that came from heaven. Are we feeding on the bread? What are we feeding on? But I want to apply this first of all to salvation. If you eat of this bread appropriating the Lord Jesus Christ for ourselves.

That's what we did. It's not it's not got to do with the with the remembrance of the Lord. Some people have looked at that and they think that when he said I am the bread he really was the bread.

Well he said I'm the door. It wasn't a door. It was a symbol.

The bread is symbolic. The bread and the cup are symbolic of the Lord in his person and in his work. But then when you come to chapter 8 what does he say? I am the light of the world.

That's a wonderful statement isn't it? What does it mean? Well I think it means that he brought some of the light of heaven into this dark world. Maybe I could say all of the light of heaven into this dark world. What does Matthew say? To those that sat in the region of the shadow of death as a great light sent.

He brought the light of heaven the illumination to your soul and to mine to see not just what we are but to see his greatness. The light. He says he's still the light of the world.

Well you know the Spirit of God he's the Enlightener today isn't he? The Lord Jesus is in heaven but you know well think of the of the parable with a woman in Luke 15 and and what is she she has a light and she's a broom and she's sweeping away obstacles so she can find that inanimate object that's silver that piece of silver. That's what the Spirit of God did for you and for me to remove the obstacles and what else? He brought the light. And you say well how could a woman be a picture of the Holy Spirit? Well I'll tell you how I think.

Maybe you have other ideas. In those in that parable in the first part of the parable you have the shepherd going out after the lost sheep and that's a we all love to speak from that part of the parable don't we? But I'm not coming back until he found it. That was the work of Christ really primarily with the nation of Israel.

He came to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. But then in the next part you have the Spirit of God and the last part it's a father waiting for the son to come back. The Trinity's involved in in our salvation.

It's a great salvation isn't it? Well I think the woman represents maybe the church and God is using the church today and and and the Spirit of God in the church and and bringing to others but the Spirit of God of course himself is a great enlightener. And in Ephesians chapter 1 what does Paul pray after he had shown some of the most lofty truth truths in all the Word of God? What does he say? He says he prays that the eyes of your understanding or better the eyes of your heart being enlightened that you may know. But you see they knew it they have it here and we have it in writing.

That doesn't mean our hearts have been enlightened by it. Doesn't mean when we come to a conference and we sit and I'm talking about myself I come and I sit and I listen. Doesn't mean I'm enlightened but it should be if I let the Word have its effect and the Spirit of God is here to enlighten people through the the Word of God even though you may know it but to bring it right through and bring it to heart.

So the Lord said I am the light. I am the door. By that's by me if any man enter in he shall be saved.

Aren't you glad you entered the door? The door and the ark the stores and the scriptures and I think two of a another door that was well the door of heaven was opened another door was shut the day coming when the door is going to be closed if you're not saved we could be very very careful you don't maybe have much time and the door is going to be shut when once the master of the house a threshing up and shut to the door and they're going to begin and say Lord Lord open on to us depart from me I never knew you but I thought there in Jericho you know there was a window with a scarlet thread on it but sometimes maybe we forget there was a door they told Rahab they said you put this thread in the window but you you shut the door get them to come in from the city the door would be on that side of the of the wall get them in and then shut the door they're not going to go back into the world again once they come through the door and that's what God wants for you and he wants for me so there's a door I don't want to labor these things and then he said I am the Good Shepherd that a lovely statement a Good Shepherd recently I have been reading well because of a Bible reading coming up in Phoenix on Ephesians chapter 4 and you know what it said that the Lord he laid captivity captive and he gave gifts unto men and what were the gifts that he gave unto men well some apostles and then some were prophets evangelists and pastors and teachers or pastor teachers if you want to put them together you know the Lord had all those gifts himself Hebrews 3 tells us the part is the apostle and high priest of our calling was he a prophet the Lord our God shall raise up a prophet like unto me and that's quoted again isn't it in the book of the Acts the Lord was a prophet was he evangelist the Spirit of the Lord is upon me it appointed me to preach the gospel to the poor it wasn't evangelist was he a was he a teacher on the Mount of Transfiguration he sat down to teach I think of him there like the King sitting on the throne and he's teaching him the precepts of the kingdom what about the shepherd was he a shepherd I am the Good Shepherd this is the great one that met Moses up there in the mountain and yet he's the shepherd of the sheep but you know what I like about it it never said he's a that the Lord was a great apostle doesn't say he was a great prophet it doesn't say he was a great evangelist by the great teacher but it says he's a great shepherd a good shepherd maybe I should have said good would be better it's better looking at it as good not the good evangelists and good teacher and so on but he said I'm the Good Shepherd the Good Shepherd that giveth his life for the sheep and what's he doing well he said they're going to go in and out and find pasture up until that part of the Gospel of John the Lord is dealing with individuals with Nicodemus the woman at the well the nobleman's son a man at the pool the woman taken in adultery and the man that was born blind that's chapter 9 what happens in chapter 10 he brings all these individuals he said there's going to be one flock and there's going to be one shepherd and you're glad that you're part of that flock and he said I'm going to take them where they're going to find pasture they're going to find food to eat and again I want to ask you and ask myself what am I feeding on what is it that interests me in this world there's lots of things that young people are feeding I remember Moses was so reverent how could I be reverent who could I be feeding at the ballpark the professional games and there's lots of young people and they talk about going to the movies I'll tell you that's something isn't it for a believer is that where we're going to find our our food and a place like that are we going to go to some other place outside of the local assembly to find something to eat we don't need to we have all that we need we have a shepherd and the shepherd has brought us into a place where he's going to feed us with it with the finest of the wheat and that's what we're doing here in a meeting like this when I talked about pastor teachers if you put that one you know that that's not talking about a shepherd in the local assembly there are shepherds in the local assembly and that's what we need we need good shepherds in the local assembly somebody said we don't need German shepherds you want to be a little kinder than that you know you're going to be a shepherd in the assembly if you're German don't take offense I don't mean it that way well you see we need shepherds that are going to help to feed God's people that you can you look back to somebody that helped you when you were young I'm glad I can look back to people I needed that I'll tell you and I'm glad there were people and they fed us and they fed us with the basic truths of God's Word they didn't mince words and they didn't fool around trying to get us things that we wanted to listen to they taught us the truth of God that's what we need today and that's what we've been listening to we need to be drawn closer to the the shepherd and feeding where his flock feeds you'd find that in the Song of Solomon well where do you feed your flock that's where we want to be where he's feeding his flock and if you're a shepherd in the assembly or if you have that thought in your mind that maybe someday you're gonna need to feed the flock that's what the God's people need they need to be fed and they need to be fed from the Word of God not from my ideas or your ideas or your thoughts there's plenty in the Word of God we'll never exhaust it in our lifetime or even in the eternal ages we'll never exhaust the Word of God but meanwhile I'm glad that I'm a sheep of his pasture and I want to be fed and I want to grow I want to make progress in the things of God well you made any progress you ever take inventory or take stock and ask yourself has there been any progress in my life most of us would have to hang our head and shame and say not very much I remember when mr. Paisley was saved 40 years he was telling me Bill I've been saved 40 years I said you haven't made much progress have you you know what he said I'm not meet to be called an apostle I'll tell you I wish some of us could make progress like men like that he's not the only one there are many men I feel sorry for some of the younger people here that never knew these men and others when they're in their strength men that we were privileged to hear when we were younger that left a great impression upon us through the Word of God men that studied the Word of God they weren't interested in anything else the world didn't appeal to them at all there's so many things today aren't there to attract us and I can be attracted as well as you but I would like to have greater devotion to the Lord I asked mr. McLeod one time Oswald McLeod he's another man maybe you don't know a very stately man tall stately man I said if you had to do it all over again would you do anything different he said yes I would I said what would you do he said I'd be more devoted to the Lord I hope we'll have that desire and I hope this conference will give me that desire and give you that desire think of who he is the great I am and yet the privilege we have to draw near to him and we have him as our shepherd and then he said I am the resurrection and the life someone here mourning the loss of a loved one many of us here have had that experience we wouldn't maybe want to have it again we don't know what lies ahead but the Lord you know he can comfort the heart imagine this one I am the resurrection in the life and it says that he wept my head tender compassion wouldn't it be great to be like him in this aspect of his life to have compassion on others and things that we have come through we am talking about as all there's a reason for them and a purpose for them so that we can help others that are coming through the same things those of us who are older we've all lost our fathers and mothers some have lost brothers and sisters I still have my sisters and my brother but my heart goes out to those that brother McCullough just lost his brother the only brother that touches my heart but you know this also touches my heart I am the resurrection and the life this isn't the end these things are for the glory of God Lazarus's death was to bring glory to the Lord the Lord of resurrection and what glory there's going to be in the future when we're all going to hear the shout perhaps today we'll hear the shout caught up to meet the Lord in the air so be forever with the Lord but meanwhile he said I am the way well you say that's a good gospel verse it is and I have preached it in the gospel I am the way the truth and the life no man or no one cometh unto the Father but by me you know I think there's more to that verse than a gospel verse the Lord washed the disciples feet in the previous chapter and he said to Peter if I wash thee not Peter said you're not going to wash my feet you remember he said if I wash thee not thou's no part with me no part in what just in service maybe that's included I think it's in the priesthood was a priestly thing that the Lord was doing and and you know I think this access is access to the very to the holiest of all by a new and a living way which he has consecrated for us through the veil that is to say his flesh there's a way that we worship in heaven where do you worship somebody told me it went to one of my father's Bible readings my dad had Bible classes in the shipyard for years over in Belfast and one man said from a denominational place he says brother where do you worship where would you say somebody asked you where you worship he said I worship in the heavenly sanctuary he wasn't trying to be smart he was telling the truth but he knew what the man meant so he said but if you mean where do I fellowship he said I fellowship with a call upon the Lord out of a pure heart but you know we worship in the sanctuary it's not like the disciples you know we're down here our father which art in heaven I think there was a distance there you see they weren't indwelt by the Holy Spirit and the Lord hadn't gone back and into heaven but we have that place of nearness today I am the way the direction instruction we're going to kind of fellowship with the with God right in the heavenly sanctuary we can worship in the heavenly sanctuary what a marvelous thing that is people ask you do you have an altar I said yeah we have an altar we're off they have no right to eat but serve the tabernacle but they're talking about something in the building you have a sanctuary yeah we have the heavenly sanctuary I must close what's the next one I am the true vine and my father is a husband what does that mean what does it speak of well I think it speaks of communion and that's a wonderful thing to have communion isn't it to be I'm not talking about taking communion as a world says but really enjoying communion with the Lord Jesus he's the vine without me you're nothing we can't brag about anything apart from our association with this wonderful person imagine who he is the great I am I am has sent thee that's all the power of the unchanging one that's the one that we're associated with that would give us reverence at all times wouldn't it but as well as I just think that he come into this world the bread of life so that we could be satisfied the world is hungering and they can't find anything to satisfy their hunger or to sate their thirst but thank God we have everything the old hymn used to say about the woman in the garret floor in London just an attic floor and the last line said I have Christ what want I more what more do we need brethren and sisters may the Lord help us to go in for living our lives to please him you know we're not being deprived by not going in for the things of the world let's appear the Christians that are going in for the things of the world they're the ones that are losing out they're the ones that are deprived they're not enjoying these things and the I've often said that the greatest disappointment could I said that way in my life maybe that's not the right word but is that I didn't go in for God's salvation when I was younger so they could learn more of this wonderful person if you're young don't waste time get to know more about him get into your word get the word into you and don't be afraid to use the helps I don't know if there's any place in North America where you get a better selection of books than what you have out here in the corridor if you can't afford them ask some of the older brethren and maybe they'll buy you one if they can't come to some of the younger ones like me and I'll try and help you but may the Lord help you to go in for the things of God and serve the great I am serving in his power that great I am has sent thee