Sent Part 10 | An Encounter With God | Michael McDaniel | Exodus 3:1–10 KJV

Sermon Summary

Blaise Pascal’s private note of a life-changing encounter opens a meditation on the necessity of meeting God afresh and often. Encounters with the divine are not relics of the past but present possibilities—moments of awe, rescue, and reorientation that can happen in hospitals, markets, graves, and fields alike. The narrative of Exodus marks a turning point from slavery and suppression toward deliverance and promise, illustrating that God’s arrival can shift the whole trajectory of a life or a people. Moses appears not as a passive recipient but as a working man—diligent, imperfect, and strategically placed—whose ordinary labor becomes the setting for an extraordinary call.

Going further than usual, Moses sees a burning bush that does not consume itself: a visible paradox that signals God’s presence within human vulnerability. That sign reframes mundane toil and painful detours as the ground where vocation meets revelation. Objections rise naturally—questions of adequacy, past failures, and fearful “what ifs”—yet the response is not condemnation but assurance: God promises presence and power rather than mere permission. The rod becomes a sign of transforming power; the divine call comes with accompaniment. The text insists that calling and capability are not identical: God supplies what is lacking and meets fear with covenant fidelity.

This theology refuses sentimental shortcuts. It calls for sober acknowledgment of suffering and honest engagement with excuses, while insisting that God’s timing and providence often work through long, circuitous journeys. The resurrection is invoked as the summit of divine power—an enacted promise that God’s intervention is both historical and present-empowering. The faithful are invited to live expectantly: to cultivate daily encounters, to recognize strategic placements in hardship, and to step forward despite felt inadequacy because God’s presence and power attend the call. The result is not automatic comfort but a horizon of deliverance, where ordinary lives become instruments of divine deliverance and praise.

Key Takeaways

1. Pursue daily encounters with God Regular, personal encounters with God reshape perception and sustenance. They are not one-off events but disciplines of attention that pull faith out of habit and into awe. Such encounters refuse to privatize God as Sunday-only and instead make God the active center of life’s trials and triumphs. [01:44]
2. Ordinary work can be sacred ground God often calls people while they are actively engaged in mundane labor, not in perfect circumstances. The place of daily service can be the precise locus of vocation and revelation; discontent with the journey can blind one to this. Recognizing ordinary work as holy reframes detours and delays as preparation rather than punishment. [07:44]
3. Don’t let excuses define calling Self-doubt, past failures, and hypothetical fears are common barriers to obedience, but they are not final verdicts. Theological courage means bringing weaknesses before God’s promises rather than letting them become reasons for paralysis. Faithful response involves honest confession of limits paired with reliance on divine accompaniment. [15:09]
4. God’s presence brings active power Promise without power would be mere sentiment; God’s assurance comes with the enabling presence that changes situations. The biblical picture links covenantal promise with concrete acts—transforming tools, liberation from bondage, and ultimately resurrection power. Trust unfolds when presence is expected and power is believed. [21:53]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:27] - Blaise Pascal’s encounter
[01:13] - A private testimony of joy
[01:44] - The need for daily encounters
[03:14] - Where people meet God
[04:47] - Rekindling a sense of awe
[06:10] - Exodus: shift to deliverance
[07:44] - Moses: working and called
[12:51] - The burning bush explained
[21:53] - God’s presence and power
[24:09] - Resurrection as prevailing power

Bible Study Guide

Bible reading

Exodus 3:1–12 (ESV)
1 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, the mountain of God. 2 And 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. 3 And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” 4 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.” 5 Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” 6 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.

7 Then the Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, 8 and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up 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. 9 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 oppress them. 10 Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” 11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” 12 He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”

Observation questions

According to Exodus 3:1, what was Moses’ specific occupation and location when God appeared to him?
What was the "visible paradox" or unusual sight that caused Moses to "turn aside" from his work? [12:51]
In verses 7-9, what three specific things does God say He has done in response to the suffering of His people?
When God gives Moses his assignment, what is the very first objection Moses raises in verse 11? [16:08]

Interpretation questions

Moses was a man "on the run" from his past when he encountered the bush. How does the fact that God met him in the middle of his ordinary labor suggest that our "detours" are actually part of God's strategic placement? [09:04]
God identifies Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Why is it significant that God grounds this new encounter in an old covenant promise during a time of slavery and oppression? [06:31]
The burning bush was on fire but was not consumed. How does this serve as a picture of "burning bushes" today—people who have gone through trials that should have destroyed them but are still standing by God's grace? [13:21]
When Moses feels inadequate, God doesn't give him a pep talk about his own skills; He promises His presence. What does this teach us about the difference between human "capability" and divine "calling"? [16:45]

Application questions

We often look for God in the "sanctity of the sanctuary," but encounters can happen in the market, at a grave, or in a hospital room. Where is a "non-religious" place where you have unexpectedly met God? [03:14]
It is easy to live off a past experience of salvation, but we need to meet God afresh every day. What does a "daily encounter" with God look like for you personally, and how does it change your perspective on your trials? [01:44]
Moses was working hard and going "further than he normally took them" when he saw the bush. Are you currently feeling frustrated by the "mundane labor" of your life? How would it change your workday to view your ordinary job as "holy ground"? [07:44]
We often give God "what if" excuses—what if I fail, what if they remember my past, or what if I’m not welcome? What is one "what if" that is currently causing you to hesitate in obeying God? [18:28]
God’s presence isn't just a feeling; it comes with active power. In what area of your life do you need to stop "catastrophizing" and start believing that "all things are possible with God"? [19:14]
The resurrection is the ultimate proof of God's power to turn a story around. How does the reality of "Sunday morning" give you hope that your current "oppression or depression" is not the end of your story? [24:09]

Sermon Clips

``he mentions Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and so on, and I know that you know the story, but the reality he mentions them is because God made a covenant and he made a promise to his people, and God can never renege on his promises. So I'll say this to you as I go on my way. If God has made a promise to you, you can bank on it. You can count on it because it will come to pass. [00:07:14] (26 seconds) #I can do that — but the text includes many repeated paragraphs and it’s unclear how many distinct quotes you want hashtags for. Do you want one hashtag per paragraph as written, or can you resend the quotes numbered or separated so I can ensure the count matches exactly?

You you think you don't see burning bushes anymore. You think that it's this theophany that just happened in antiquity, but the reality is is that some of you in here are burning bushes. And the fact that you are still in God's place, the fact that what you've been through has not consumed you, the fact that what you've gone through has not consumed you, beloved, look around the sanctuary. You're looking at some burning bushes, and you need to stop and admire what God has done. [00:13:08] (37 seconds)

Stop giving God excuses. What then pastor was Moses's excuses? His first excuse was I'm not adequate. Who am I? I don't I don't have what it takes for the job. I can't do it. People don't really know me. A matter of fact, God, I don't know if you really notice or not. I committed a crime back there, and I ain't I ain't really welcome back anymore. [00:16:01] (22 seconds)

That should have been good news to Moses, but Moses Moses had an objection to God. God, I can't I can't do it. I ain't gonna go. Moses began to give God some excuses. Y'all know what excuses are? Monuments of nothingness that build bridges to nowhere, and those who choose use these tools of incompetencies becomes masters of nothingness. Can I just ask you a question? Why you keep giving God excuses? [00:15:01] (31 seconds)

You ain't launched out and started what you what God told you to start because of fear. You keep objecting. You ain't launched out by faith to do what God has called you to do because you keep giving God excuses. Can I tell you something? If God knows every hair on your head, then he also knows every proclivity that you have in your life. God ain't calling you to do something that he doesn't think you're able to do with his help. [00:15:32] (29 seconds)

Listen, beloved, you and I gotta stop living in what ifs and start living in what's possible. Oftentimes, we give the what if excuse because we are always consumed with our decisions on yesterday. We're always consumed about what people are gonna think when I stand up. What if? But what if God fools around and let somebody be moved by the spirit because you did what God told you to do? We as African Americans gotta stop catastrophizing. We gotta stop living in what ain't happened yet. And I know we gun shy from yesterday, but don't live today like yesterday. [00:18:31] (49 seconds)

The moment of God encounters is is you determine God is is is we can meet God everywhere. We can meet God through scripture. We can meet God through praise and worship. We can meet God through song. But listen, don't limit meeting God or having a God encounter to the sanctity of the sanctuary. But listen, I wish there was somebody who could pass the mic around because we would ask the question, where did you encounter God? Even if you don't get to testify, let me tell you a few places in scripture where people met God. Some people met God in a pit. Some people met God in a den. Some people met God in a dream. [00:02:55] (41 seconds)

What the world needs now even more in this day is a God encounter. We need one that's a personal encounter with God. I I appreciate meeting God with you all, but I I need for him to to encounter me all by myself. Listen. We we we sometimes live in as if God has just become so common to you and I. But none of us are we we rarely live in the state of aweness of God. [00:04:28] (31 seconds)

Next, he's he's a curious man. Or big mama would say, just nosy. Because God took him further, he was able to see something that he never would have seen before. If you wanna see God do something different in your life, then go beyond those places that have always been comfortable for you. [00:11:58] (25 seconds)

because of the result of him going further, he saw a burning bush. I don't have time, but you know that this burn this bush is burning, but it's not being consumed. Your pastor was a science major and an engineering major. He's your pastor, really smart, and so he could probably tell you why this bush was on fire but not burning or at least give you the science behind some of it. I I can't give it to you. All I'm a tell you, it was a fire and what nothing burning up. And if ever you see something that's on fire and ain't burning, I'm I'm not gonna be like Moses. I'm I'm probably not going to wait around for God to say anything. [00:12:24] (37 seconds)

And even though I want y'all to know that God can still see what's happening down here, he can see the political defensiveness. He can still see poverty. He can still see food deserts. He can still see economic upheaval. God is still a god who sits high and looks low. [00:14:35] (19 seconds)