Introduction

Sign in a store window: Any faulty merchandise will be cheerfully replaced with merchandise of equal quality.

In a Miami Beach restaurant, Checks are accepted only if you are over eighty years old and accompanied by your parents.

In a watchmaker’s window: There’s no present like the time. In a tailor shop: As you rip, so shall we sew.

Did you know that all around us, there are things which we use every day to protect ourselves? For example, bicycle helmets, seat belts and gloves. And not only do we have things which protect us, but we also have people who protect us every day.

For example, firemen, doctors, policemen and one more person who protects us, God. Now, might be thinking, well, I can see all those other things, but God,

HOW DOES GOD PROTECT US?

“My help comes from the Lord, maker of heaven and earth” Psalm 121:2

Today, we are going to learn about the birth of Moses. And like we know, Moses was born a long time ago in Egypt, but he was not an Egyptian; he was an Israelite. At that time, the Pharaoh of Egypt gave an order that every newborn baby boy was to be thrown into the Nile River and killed, Exodus 1:22, but baby girls could live.

That doesn’t sound fair, does it? Can you imagine the sadness parents had when a baby boy was born? But this is a story about how God can protect his own chosen people, even during evil times like this.

“During this time, a man from the tribe of Levi married a woman of his own tribe, and she bore him a son. When she saw what a fine baby he was, she hid him for three months. But when she could not hide him any longer, she took a basket made of reeds and covered it with tar to make it watertight. She put the baby in it and then placed it in the tall grass at the edge of the river. The baby’s sister stood some distance away to see what would happen to him. The king’s daughter came down to the river to bathe, while her servants walked along the bank. Suddenly, she noticed the basket in the tall grass and sent a slave woman to get it. The princess opened it and saw a baby boy. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. “This is one of the Hebrew babies,” she said. Then his sister asked her, “Shall I go and call a Hebrew woman to nurse the baby for you?” “Please do,” she answered. So the girl went and brought the baby’s own mother. The princess told the woman. “Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you.” So she took the baby and nursed him. Later, when the child was old enough, she took him to the king’s daughter, who adopted him as her own son. She said to herself, “I pulled him out of the water, and so I name him Moses.” Exodus 2:1-10

Moses’ mother totally trusted in God. Instead of throwing Moses into the Nile, she hid him for the first three months of his life. And if Pharaoh found out, she and Moses would have been murdered. But when things were getting really hard for her, and she could hide him no longer, she put him in a basket and set him among the reeds in the Nile.

But God was protecting Moses even as a baby because Pharaoh’s daughter found him along the bank of the Nile among the reeds. And when Pharaoh’s daughter and her servants were bathing, they found Moses.

Now, let me ask you, do you think Moses was found by accident, or was it God’s plan? It was God’s plan because who was it who was hired to look after Moses? It was Moses’ mother who got the job. So not only was God looking after Moses, but He was looking after his mother.

Think about how you would feel if one of your children were taken away from you? Most people in the world would probably be cursing God for doing such a thing. But Moses’ mum trusted God, and because she trusted Him so much, God took care of her and her baby.

We use many things to protect us, like helmets, gloves and heavy coats in the winter. People also protect us from harm, such as firemen and lifeguards. God’s protection is always there, even when we don’t know it.

He has a plan for us just like He did for Moses. Although things may seem difficult at the time, God is always working in us for the good. The Bible says the following.

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28

Moses’ mother loved God and knew she had a purpose for her life. Moses loved God, and he knew that God had a plan for his life. And if you love God, you can be sure that God has a plan for your lives, too.

God had a plan for Moses, but like many people today, including ourselves, we just don’t know it. Now there are many great ways to communicate with people today, some are more effective than others.

Examples: Radio, Television, Books, Magazines, Loudspeakers, email, mobile phones, and prayer. But did you know that God can communicate with us in miraculous ways?

We just learned about how God protected Moses by having the Pharaoh’s daughter raise him as her own child. God had a plan for Moses from the time he was born.

Now Moses is a married man, and it is time for God to tell Moses what to do. During this time, the Israelite people who were living in Egypt were being treated very badly.

The Egyptians are using them as slaves to do all the hard work. But the Israelites are God’s chosen people, so God is going to use Moses to free them from their suffering. This part of the story begins with Moses tending the sheep belonging to Jethro, his Father-in-law.

“One day, Moses was leading his sheep to Horeb, also called “the mountain of God”, when an angel appeared to him from within a burning bush. Moses thought it was strange that the bush was on fire, but it did not burn up. Then God spoke to Moses from the burning bush. “Moses, take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground.” “I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I have heard the prayers of my people in Egypt, and I am sending you to lead them out of Egypt into a land that is flowing with milk and honey.” “Who am I to lead your people out of Egypt,” Moses asked. God answered, “I will be with you.” “Who shall I tell them sent me?” Moses asked. God answered, “I AM that I AM. Tell them I AM sent you.” Exodus 3:1-15

We may communicate today using modern technology, but God chose to speak to Moses through a burning bush. But this was no ordinary burning bush; this was a bush which was burning but never burnt down.

And what we all need to remember is that when we’re in the presence of God, this is indeed holy ground. And the reason it is holy is because of God’s presence. And when we’re in God’s presence, we all should react like Moses did when God made a request of him; he felt unworthy.

Now you might be thinking to yourself, How does God communicate with us today? Well, in some ways, He communicates with people today the same way He did back then. Now, through burning bushes or miraculous visions and miracles, but through people.

Moses was going to be God’s spokesman because God said He would be with him. And every time a Christian speaks today, we are God’s spokespeople because Jesus promised to be with us forever.

“And I will be with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:20

God desires to communicate with us all the time. Sometimes, however, we are just too busy to listen to God. Perhaps we feel God has more important things to do than talk to us. But that cannot be further from the truth.

God loves us very much and wants to tell us many things; that’s why He wants us to read and study the Bible. That’s why we need to take time to pray and hear what God has to say. In the Book of Exodus, we just read the story of God meeting Moses at the burning bush. There, God said to him the following.

“I am the God your father, the God of Abraham, the God of your ancestors, and I want you to go to Pharaoh and direct him to release my people from slavery.” But Moses kept asking him, “Who are you?” “If I come to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors 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—thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” Exodus 3:13-14

Have you ever wondered what your name means? David means beloved. Afia means born on Friday. Roxanne means dawn. Ethan means firmness and long-lived.

God, have many names, but when Moses asked him who He was, God wanted to be known simply as the great “I AM.” When Moses then asked, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh?” God replied, “I will be with you.” If God is the great I AM and we are all made in the image of God, then in some ways, we may be little ‘I Ams’.

Many of the words we use to describe ourselves are just plain facts. For example, I might say “I am a man”. And if you asked one of our ladies, they may say that “I am a woman”. All of you could say “I am a child”. But we also describe ourselves in other ways. We might say, “I am lazy”, “I am shy”, “I am stupid”, or “I am clumsy”.

But those are very negative declarations, aren’t they? Those types of statements tend to shape what we are or who we become. Unfortunately, we don’t always label ourselves that way. Because if we always believe the negative things that people tell us we are, we become no better than robots.

What if mankind had to leave Earth, and somebody forgot to turn the last robot off? After hundreds of lonely years of doing what he was built for, WALL-E discovers a new purpose in life (besides collecting knick-knacks) when he meets a sleek search robot named EVE.

EVE comes to realise that WALL-E has inadvertently stumbled upon the key to the planet’s future, and races back to space to report her findings to the humans who have been eagerly awaiting word that it is safe to return home.

Meanwhile, WALL-E chases EVE across the galaxy and sets an adventure into motion. Joining WALL-E on his journey across the universe is a cast of characters, including a pet cockroach and a heroic team of malfunctioning misfit robots.

And if you remember, at the end of the film, WALL-E was grievously crushed in keeping AUTO from collapsing the platform. Once they reach Earth, EVE rushes WALL-E back to his garage and repairs him. WALL-E doesn’t recognise her and begins to compact garbage. Distraught, EVE holds WALL-E’s hand and gives him an electric kiss again.

This properly reboots WALL-E. McCrea teaches the other humans how to nurture the plant and heal the planet. It will be much easier than they think because just outside of the city, plants have already begun to flourish.

We’re not robots, and we don’t have to become anything that people say we are. We may hear others call us negative things so many times that we tend to believe it.

What if you don’t want to become any of those? What can you do? Here’s a simple solution: simply make new, positive declarations. By re-naming ourselves, we enlarge the space for God to help us to become who we say we are: “I am a child of God”. “I am a kind person”. “I am a generous person”.

And despite everything, I am filled with joy, hope, peace and love. Once you believe that, it will be easier to live that way. Of course, we may fail at times. But, here is another declaration: “I am NOT a quitter”. When I fall down, I don’t stay there. I get right back up and keep trying. You can be whatever you have the courage to take a stand for.

And the reason you can do that is simply by remembering that we are little ‘I Ams’, but God is the great ‘I AM’. And He truly does protect and has a plan for all those who love Him.

When God called him to lead his people out of slavery, Moses asked, “Who am I to lead your people?” God answered, “I will be with you.” When God calls you, remember, He will be with you!