Friday February 28, 2014

Read Exodus 3

Moses spent about 40 years in the desert as a shepherd. He had fled Egypt leaving the people of God in slavery. But God called Moses from within a burning bush that was not destroyed by the flames.

As Moses spoke with God, he asked God what His name was (v13). God replied by giving Moses His personal name. In our English Bibles we read “I AM WHO I AM. The Hebrew transliteration is Yahweh. Sometimes we see in our Bibles the word Lord written in capitals as Lord. Have a look at verse 4 and you’ll see this clearly.

Lord or Yahweh is the covenant name of God and captures the kingship of God over His people. It means that the people are bound to God in every way, shape and form.

As with the Glory of God, the lordship of God also implies several things. It implies that God is omnipotent. God is all powerful (Gen 17:1). Nothing is impossible for God (Gen 18:14, Matt 19:26). 

It also implies that God is omnipresent, which means that God is everywhere present at one time and sees/hears all things. As the Psalmist found out (Ps 139) there is no place in the heavens or the depths that one can hide from God. God’s omnipresence is a blessing in the face of evil for the believer knows that God is present and will bring all evil/wickedness to account. The evil doer will not escape the judgment of God.

The Lordship of God also implies the omniscience of God. God sees all things and is present in all places. He thus knows all things. This is the background for the opening of the books in Revelation 20. All the deeds of mankind are recorded because God sees and knows all. Every deed, no matter how well we think we’ve hidden it, is seen by God and will be recorded in the books.

The Lordship of God affects our worship because God looks at the heart and knows our motives. We may sing with gusto at church but God sees the heart. We may serve the poor and the needy but God sees our real motivation. We may give sacrificially to the Lord but God knows our intention. God calls us to worship Him with our entire heart and soul and mind and strength. He calls us to give Him everything because at the cross He has given us everything.

Prayer: Write down your prayer points in the space provided. Use today’s reading to help you get ideas.

Adoration:

Confession:

Thanks:

Supplication:

ª Pray that God would bless our youth leaders with deep seated wisdom and a great knowledge of the Bible. Pray that they would have opportunity to model Christ-likeness and godliness in their dealings with youth tonight.

ª Pray that the parents of teenagers would be wise in their parenting and able to negotiate the many twists and turns that come with having teenagers in the house. Pray for patience, endurance and for a steadiness in the parents that draws the teens closer to Christ.

Worship Moment – Do we include God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit in our ‘worship’, including our Sonday gatherings? Some do by praying to each of the persons of the Godhead.  But do we know the roles of Father, Son and Spirit and do we incorporate them in our life for God and our celebration of God on Sondays?

Discussion Questions For Families and Groups

1. What is the role/place of the Father in our Sonday services?

2. What is the role/place of the Son in our Sonday services?

3. What is the role/place of the Spirit in our Sonday services?