Unlimited Grace

Bryan Chapell: I cannot be contained in words. I cannot be contained in a profession. My power is beyond expression. I am who I am. And when He says that, He's establishing, "I am the forever God. I was the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I'm the God who will be remembered forever."

Guest (Male): So glad you joined us for today's Unlimited Grace, the audio broadcast ministry of pastor and author Bryan Chapell. In today's episode, Pastor Bryan shares the second half of a lesson from Exodus chapter 3.

Dr. Chapell reveals through the way that God works through Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, that God can take broken pieces in a broken place and lead them to holy ground. You can find this lesson and many others when you visit UnlimitedGrace.com.

While you're there, look for this wonderful resource from Dr. Chapell, Holiness by Grace. In this book, Pastor Bryan will guide you through reassuring scripture passages to discover how works and obedience are not a means of establishing or maintaining salvation, but a grateful response to God's mercy. Let's hear now from Dr. Bryan Chapell as he shares the second half of the lesson, Holy Ground.

Bryan Chapell: Grace 150, that celebration is a journey of God's unlimited grace, as we have titled it. And it's that journey that we continue to consider in Exodus chapter 3.

As the journey continues, it has not begun in kind or gentle circumstances. After all, what led to the children of Israel being in Egypt was a famine that resulted in brothers coming to meet a brother that they had sold into slavery by betrayal. Following the famine and the betrayal is the multiplication of the people of God in slavery so much that Pharaoh decides to engage in ethnic cleansing and murder the male children.

The consequence is that one is rescued by a providential hand of God sending a boat into the bullrushes where the princess of Egypt is. Even though Moses is raised in her home, he becomes a murderer, flees to the desert, and is now under death sentence from Pharaoh. Hardly a journey of blessing that we would expect God to use. But He does.

Exodus chapter 3. Let's stand in honor of God's word as we continue the journey, verses 1 through 15 of Exodus chapter 3. "Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. And he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, another name for Mount Sinai, the mountain of God."

"The 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. And Moses said, 'I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.' When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, 'Moses, Moses.' And he said, 'Here I am.'"

"Then He said, 'Do not come near. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.' And He said, 'I am the God of your 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 at God."

"Then the Lord said, 'I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt and I have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, 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, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.'"

"Now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to Me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt."

"But Moses said to God, 'Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?' He said, 'But I will be with you, and this shall be a sign for you that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.'"

"Then Moses said to God, 'If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, "The God of your fathers has sent me to you," and they ask me, "What is His name?" what shall I say to them?' God said to Moses, 'I AM WHO I AM.' And He said, 'Say this to the people of Israel: "I AM has sent me to you."'"

"God also said to Moses, 'Say this to the people of Israel: "The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob has sent me to you. This is My name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations."'"

Let's pray together. Heavenly Father, help us to remember the great I AM who came down to deliver His people from their difficulties and from their iniquity, from their sadness and from their sin. This is our great blessing as we journey with a people of old to discover a God for the people of today. Work in us through Your word and by Your spirit we ask in Jesus' name. Amen. Please be seated.

What are we learning about holy ground? The ground is not made holy by the people or by the time or by the place. The ground is made holy by the presence of God. Wherever God is, that is holy ground.

Now the problem is, of course, where is God? And God has made it clear. "I was in the bush with your father Abraham generations ago. I was in the bullrushes when you were launched upon the Nile to find a way to survive. I am in the bush now, and you will have the sign. You'll go to Pharaoh, and you'll come back here to this mountain. I'm going to be there when you get there."

"I'm going to take the people into the land of milk and honey and I will be remembered forever. I'm the God behind you, and I'm the God ahead of you, and I'm the God with you. I'm the God of all times. I'm the God of all places. Wherever I am, that's the holy place. And I am everywhere."

Moses isn't getting it. The people aren't going to get it for a while. They have to learn what it means for God to lead them by pillar of fire at night, pillar of cloud by day, to recognize that in that tabernacle that travels with them is the presence of God in the Ark, which means wherever they go, God is with them.

God has made clear over and over again what is ultimately going to happen when the apostle John tells us that Christ came to tabernacle among us because ultimately His name is Emmanuel, God with us. When? Always, everywhere. Which means the holy place, if it's identified by the presence of God—not by people, not by place, not by time—but by the presence of God, where is the holy place?

It's here, and at your home, and in the hospital room, and in the moment of crisis, and in the moment of anger, and in your marriage, and in your sin. Every one of those places, despite our weakness and fault and frailty and doubt, is the holy place of God. It makes a difference when you begin to see the world that way.

My wife Kathy's sister is a hospice nurse, and she has sometimes rather amazing posts on her Facebook of what it means to see and understand God in the difficult, difficult spaces of life. She wrote this last Christmas: "Being on call on Christmas weekend as a hospice nurse is a bummer. Even more so when it is the first Christmas after my mom died. For the first time since she moved here nine years ago, there will be no blueberry pancakes followed by a long drive through the mountains with mom whistling Christmas carols."

"I was not in the best of moods when the call came: 'We have sent your patient to the ER because she fell and hit her nose.' Hospice patients are not supposed to go to the ER. Especially not on Christmas Eve. Christmas Eve, bah humbug. I grumbled the whole way there."

"But then I met her. She was confused and afraid. No one was there for her, no family, nobody. So I sat with her for hours. She was lost in her confusion and dementia. The ER cacophony did not help: loud voices, monitors blaring, shouted expletives from an angry patient, sounds of somebody throwing up, overhead pages. She began having hallucinations."

"I bunched up a blanket, which became her puppy that she could pet. She named him Barney. He was furry white and missing a tooth. Then I mentioned it was Christmas Eve and her banged-up nose now made her look like Rudolph. Her face lit up with joy, and she began singing Christmas carols at the top of her voice. 'Joy to the world, the Lord is come.' 'Away in a manger, no crib for His bed.' 'O holy night.' She made a few creative words for that song."

"She continued to sing for an hour. In her wobbly, 96-year-old voice, I admit I was embarrassed at first, but then I realized some of the staff were starting to sing along. I heard voices coming from other rooms. Patients and families were joining our choir. We became an odd, holy Christmas choir. I should have taken off my shoes, because the icky, germy ER floor had become holy ground."

"When she was finally going into the ambulance to go back home, she raised her arms into the air and said, 'I am so full of joy.' Christ was there, swaddled in dementia. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. And this was holy ground."

You begin to see your world different. You say, "Wherever God is, that is holy ground." And I perceive more and more by the hand of God's word and work in the world that He's just everywhere. Where His people love Him and recognize His hand at work and do His service and hear His words.

In a place where people are depressed or hurting, where the family crisis is intense, where you're praying for your child in a hospital room, or you're praying for your parent in a hospital room. Where you can hardly imagine what God has planned for tomorrow, where your disappointment is great, where you're just in the desert of your own soul. And you say, "Lord, where are you?"

The wonder of recognizing He says, "I'm here. I came down, remember? I came down despite the people and despite the place and despite the ground. I came down and I'm here."

Guest (Male): You're listening to Unlimited Grace, the audio broadcast ministry of pastor and author Bryan Chapell.

God instructs us in His word to be holy as He is holy. How can God expect us to be as holy as He is? Such a standard seems either to ignore our frailty or to impose certain failure. That is, until we understand how God views us.

In this challenging yet heartwarming book, Holiness by Grace, Dr. Bryan Chapell illustrates the principles of grace, the practices of faith, and the motives of love in living a life of holiness. Pastor Bryan will guide you through reassuring scripture passages to discover how works and obedience are not a means of establishing or maintaining salvation, but a grateful response to God's mercy.

Holiness by Grace draws straight from the heart of God, as Pastor Bryan's encouraging words will help you understand that your holiness is not so much a matter of what you achieve as it is the grace that God provides, a grace so rich as to make the pursuit of His holiness your soul's deepest delight. You can request your copy of Holiness by Grace when you go online to UnlimitedGrace.com or by calling 844-41-GRACE. That's 844-414-7223. Now, more from Bryan Chapell on today's Unlimited Grace.

Bryan Chapell: I came down despite the people and despite the place and despite the ground. I came down and I'm here. So what if He's here?

He says in this holy place, "I'm not just here. I'm here to help." That's the message of Exodus 3 as well. There's this amazing declaration of verse 7. The Lord said, "I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt. I have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their suffering." It's a theme that will get repeated over and over again in Exodus.

I've seen. I've heard. I know. And I remember My covenant. So I will bring about what is right and best and good for My people. Because I will do that, verse 8 says, "I have come to deliver. I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians." Sounds great. The Lord has seen and heard and He knows and He's come to deliver. One little problem, verse 10. God says to Moses, "Come, I will send you to Pharaoh."

"No, Lord! Who am I that I should deliver the people of God from the hand of Pharaoh?" It's really just a realistic question. And the wrong question, and the right question, all at the same moment. It's realistic. "Who am I that I should go? Pharaoh's after my hide! And I'm guilty of murder! And I'm just a shepherd out here in the field!" There's all kinds of realistic reasons to say, "Who am I that I should deliver the people?"

Of course, there's all kinds of wrong reasons that Moses is asking the question, "Who am I that I should deliver?" because he's going to say in the very next chapter, "Remember, God, you're sending me? Please. Here am I. Send Aaron. Anybody but me!" Which is in many ways the very right thing.

"I'm not capable. I'm not able. I'm not the one you should pick." And so Moses, when he is saying, "Who am I?" is actually confessing, "I am not able." Which sets up the very best question. "So Lord, who are you?"

"I AM."

"I'm not able."

"I AM."

As God is establishing who He is, it's this wonderful gospel presentation of verse 11 as God keeps saying over and over again, "Understand." Moses said to God, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of God out of that place, out of Egypt?" At the same time, verse 14, what happens? After Moses asked God, "What's Your name?" Verse 14, God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. Say this to the people of Israel: I AM has sent me."

Now, for the theologians, this is the heavyweight stuff. What does it mean, "I AM WHO I AM"? It doesn't make a lot of sense in Hebrew or in English. But you get it. It's saying, "I'm not identified by my parentage. I am not the son of somebody. I'm not indicated by my place. I'm not Saul of Tarsus, John of Damascus. I'm not indicated who I am by my profession. I'm John the butcher, Jake the candlestick maker."

"I just am who I am." As God is saying, "I just be. I don't have origin. I don't have end. I cannot be contained in words. I cannot be contained in a profession. My power is beyond expression. I am who I am."

When He says that, He's establishing, "I am the forever God. I was the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I'm the God who will be remembered forever." Without beginning or without end. "I'm the God of your forefathers." But ultimately He's saying, "I am the God for now. I came down to deliver you. You confessed to Me you are not able. And God simply says, 'I have no limits. I have all power. And I will be remembering My covenant forever. I am who I am and I will deliver you.'"

Why do we need to hear those words? This whole message, I was getting ready for this very moment right now. Because we're the ones who say, "I'm not able. I got these other things to do, or I've got these things that disqualify me." And God is saying, "Am I not with you? Is this not holy ground? Wherever I am, isn't that holy ground? And if this is holy ground and I am with you, then I'm sending you."

"I'm not capable, Lord."

"Oh, but I am."

As Jesus would say it over and over again, "I am the light of the world. I am the bread of life. I am the good shepherd. I am the way, the truth, and the life." Here is Christ saying, "I know you're not capable. I am."

And we need that even as a church at a time of legacy. Why? We look backwards. We say, "Wasn't it great in that railcar that somebody was willing to say, 'We need to help the children?'" The great calling card of Presbyterians throughout history is going back to John Knox, our forefather, who said, "Give me Scotland or I die."

There was somebody at a railcar who said, "Give me the children, or they die. Give me Peoria, or I die." And if we are being faithful to that legacy, it is still our cry, our responsibility. "Lord, give us the children, or we die."

They have souls that need to hear about Jesus. They have lives that need help from people who are not as distressed as their families and their backgrounds and their difficulties. As You have rescued us, make us rescuers. Lord, we know that we have iniquity and difficulty and pride and arrogance and all kinds of things that distract us.

Lord, if You marked iniquity, who could stand? But with You there is forgiveness. That's the message that I know, and these children need to know it too. "I'm not able."

He says what? "I AM. And I'm with you. This is holy ground."

Guest (Male): That's Pastor Bryan Chapell, and you've been listening to Unlimited Grace. If you've missed anything that you'd like to hear once again, just visit UnlimitedGrace.com. When you do so, you can sign up for Pastor Bryan's daily devotional sent right to your inbox. Please be sure to join us next time, as once again we endeavor to put Christ at the center of our efforts so that lives might be transformed by His unlimited grace.

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