The Call of God

William Wilberforce had a promising political career, influence, and comfort. Then Christ captured his life, and a mentor (John Newton) challenged him: “God has set before you two great objects—abolition of the slave trade and reformation of manners.” His desk didn’t move, but his purpose did. In Exodus 3, Moses’ job title doesn’t change immediately—shepherd to sheep—but his assignment does—shepherd to a nation.

Today, I want to teach you about the call of God. You see, I believe that the Holy Spirit is stirring in hearts. There is a lot of pent-up energy. There is a zeal and a desire for something more. And I believe that this is a moment in time where God is calling you to answer His call.

Our text today is Exodus 3:1-10. We covered some of this ground last week. Let’s read it together.

Exodus 3:1-10
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.”

I want to walk you through Moses’ call, so we might understand what happens when God calls us. To do this, I am going to lay out principles of what happens when God calls an individual into His purposes.

When God Calls…

• A Moment that Captures You

Exodus 3:1-4
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.”
 
During the Lifted Life Series a few weeks back, we talked about worship simply being God’s revelation, and our subsequent response.

In this call of Moses, God works to get his attention. There is REVELATION. Notice what it says in verse 2-3.

Exodus 3:2-3
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.”

This is a moment of revelation where God is capturing the heart of Moses. He is revealing himself to him.

When the Lord called me into vocational ministry, I was about 19 years old. While I was a junior in high school, our family went through some church pain, and the church I had grown up in all of my life was no longer my church home.

I plugged into YoungLife my senior year of High School and that was a real blessing. Then, as I stayed in Houston for college, I went to class, worked a lot, and would go to church wherever my parents were, but to be honest, I was in a wilderness season. I was orphaned from my church, and I wasn’t anchored to a group of believers. I was adrift, spiritually.
I worked at Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen in Stafford, and I could sell that fish!

One evening, a couple of the waiters invited me to Bible Study the following Tuesday night. Their invitation changed the trajectory of my life.

They said, “Hey Roger, do you have a shift next Tuesday night?” I said, “No, I’m off.” They then said, “Would you like to come to our College Ministry Bible Study?”

I said, “Sure.”

They drew me a map on a napkin, told me where it was, and told me when it started.
I got there about an hour late, because I got lost…pre-gps…and Julee King answered the door. Like I said, this invitation changed my life…and Julee and I just celebrated 30 years of marriage last month!

I quickly joined that church and then began my own lifted life journey – I was discipled. I attended Bible Study and Church. And I was growing spiritually once again.

It was in this season, a door was opened to me.

The general manager of Pappadeaux, asked me to enter into their training program and become a manager. I was truly excited about this opportunity and wanted to pursue it. But God was using the open door to get my attention.

As I stepped in, I also prayed, “Lord, you have to guide me. Please make your leading known.”

You see, I realized that this open door could set a course and trajectory for my life. So I prayed for God’s leading.

At the same time, I was doing some coaching of kid’s sports. And while I was doing coaching, I was also, in the back of my mind, wondering if God wanted me to step into Youth Ministry. I was wrestling…Pappas Company…Coaching…or Ministry?

This life event…an open door…got my attention and caused me to look up and ask, “God what is it you want?”

We were then on a retreat at Trinity Pines Baptist Encampment, and God called me. I said, “Lord, do you want me to become a youth pastor?”

And the Spirit whispered in my ear… “Let’s give it a shot.”

How does God get your attention? What happens in our lives to get us to pick up our heads and inquire further?

• For some, it is opportunity. The open door was key.
• For others, it is frustration – your frustration and waiting drives you to the Father to ask what is it He wants.
• For some, it is suffering – listen to the words of C. S. Lewis…

C.S. Lewis, in his book, The Problem of Pain, said:
God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”[1]
  [1] C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain, p. 91 (HarperOne edition).

I believe that some of you have been so shaken by this moment with Charlie Kirk, that God has captured your attention.
 

• Maybe you are at church for the first time in a long time.
• Maybe God’s purposes in your life haven’t been terribly important to you, but this moment has caused you to see something more clearly, more important about your life and how you live out your days. I don’t know…but I believe that God is stirring you for something more.
• God is calling out to you.

The second principle I want to share with you is about Your Availability.

When God Calls…

• A Moment that Captures You
• Your Availability

 Look at verse 4.

Exodus 3:4
 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.”
 
 Let’s spend a minute looking at God calling Moses by name, and Moses’ response.

 God calls him by name twice!
 

• This isn’t the only time in scripture we see this : Abraham Abraham,  Jacob Jacob, Samuel Samuel, Martha Martha, Simon Simon, Saul Saul.

 Here’s what it means when God calls your name twice:

• it’s a way of attention grabbing…
• it’s a term of endearment or friendship or affection,
• and it always comes with a calling or mission….

  Now, don’t miss this. Especially if you are here and you haven’t yet connected with God.

• God knows you.
• God made you.
• God is pursuing you…which is what we talked about last week.
• He knows your name.

Isaiah 43:1
 But now thus says the Lord,
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
 
 We are invited into a personal relationship with the sovereign king of the universe through His Son, Jesus.

  Now, let’s look at the second part of this engagement.

 Notice Moses’ response.

Exodus 3:4
 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.”
  

• “Here I Am” (Hebrew: Hineni) — A Word of Availability and Surrender

 The Hebrew word Hineni (הִנֵּנִי) is more than just a statement of physical presence—it’s a declaration of full attentiveness, readiness, and availability. It conveys:
 

• Attentive presence — Moses is not distracted. He’s listening.
• Willingness to obey — It foreshadows his eventual response, even though fear and doubt come later.
• Surrender — Moses is posturing himself before a divine encounter, open to what God might say.

Here I am
 

Person	Passage	Context
Abraham	Genesis 22:1	God calls him to sacrifice Isaac — he answers “Hineni.”
Jacob	Genesis 46:2	God speaks before Jacob moves to Egypt.
Samuel	1 Samuel 3:4	The young prophet hears God's voice.
Isaiah	Isaiah 6:8	Isaiah responds: “Here am I! Send me.”

  One writer says of this table:
 In each case, “Here I am” is a turning point—a moment of divine encounter and commission.

 Moses’ Response Shows Receptivity Before Clarity

 It’s important to note: Moses says “Here I am” before he knows what God is about to ask.
 

• He doesn’t yet know about the mission to free Israel.
• He doesn’t know that he’ll have to confront Pharaoh.
• He doesn’t even know who is speaking to him yet.

 And still, he responds. This models faith before details, and openness before certainty.

 God often calls us: not with full clarity, but with an invitation to step closer.

Are you available? Have you said to God, “Put me in, Coach! Here I am…send me?”

Let’s look at our third principle on the Call of God.

When God Calls…

• A Moment that Captures You
• Your Availability
• God’s Revelation of His Character

Exodus 3:4-6
 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.

  When you come into a relationship with God the Father, through Jesus Christ the Son, you are drawn by the Holy Spirit.

 The Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. That’s what Jesus said.

John 16:8
 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment…

 Here is what that looks like in this moment with Moses…
 

• Righteousness – This ground is holy. I am set apart. I am wholly other. I am not human. I am divine.

Exodus 3:5
Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”
 

• Sin – Take the Sandals off your feet – This speaks of things that are common…things that are not set apart…things that are dirty.

2 Timothy 2:20-21
  Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. 21 Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.

 God wants us to remove the common and sinful from our lives. He wants us set apart unto him. He wants you cleansed of your sin. He wants you prepared for His work in your life.
 

• Judgment – there is a proper fear that comes over our lives when we are in the presence of God. See this reverent fear in Moses in Exodus 3:6b.

 Exodus 3:6b
 And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

 When God reveals himself, he reveals himself as good, as loving, as just, as light and life. And yet, we still struggle to discern good and evil.

 I want to take a moment to share with you here today, what I shared with our congregation at our West U campus last week. This has to do with our ability to decide what is good and what is evil.

 People are rejoicing in Kirk’s death, and they feel that his murder is justified because of his “evil views.” While others are grieved by it, and calling it for what it is…pure evil.

 So, here is the irony: Both Sides are Calling the Other Evil.

 Let me ask you a question: In a culture with opposing sides calling the other evil, how do you know which is right?
 

• Good or Evil? Who is right?
• 
  

 Notice what the Scripture says in Isaiah 5:20.

Isaiah 5:20
 Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!

 Friends, this is the day and time in which we live.

 So, who gets to decide what is good and what is evil?

 Students, when you go off to college and you are put in a place of decision, how will you know whether something is good or evil?

 Who decides? How do you decide?

 Let’s go back to the first time where we see the words good and evil.

Genesis 1:3
 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good.
 
Genesis 1:10
 God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:12
 The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:17-18
 And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18 to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good.

 Who established what is good? And who gets to decide what is good?

 God does!

 Now, notice something in Genesis 2.

Genesis 2:9
  And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

 What is introduced here?

 Here, we have the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

Genesis 2:15-17
 15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

 So, now, man has a choice. He has a choice to obey or to disobey. Consuming the fruit of this tree, rebelling against the creator, will be the introduction of evil.

 At the creation, Man’s ability to choose to love and obey God, or to rebel and pursue his own way is fundamental to whether or not there will be evil in this world.

 Notice it says, “for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

 Look now at the introduction of the tempter and deceiver, Satan.

Genesis 3:1-6
1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.

 As you know the story:
 

• this is going to bring death into the picture.
• This will also bring with it a sin nature that we inherit as descendants of Adam.
• Our nature is prone to sin and rebellion and deciding our own way.

 But the temptation and lie of the Enemy is this: You Get to Decide for Yourself Your Truth! You get to decide what is good and evil.
 
 That’s why you see many calling that which is evil, good. And that which is good, evil. They are deciding in their own eyes what their truth is.
 

• To the Christian, the Bible is the final word on what is good and evil. I’m amazed at the number of people who want the church to embrace their truth, and they don’t understand our conviction to stand on the Scripture as our source and authority for truth.

But if you are here and have always wondered why Christian people are dogmatic, it’s because we have submitted our lives to this authority. God decides what is good and evil, and we have adjusted our lives to this.

 Application: And if you are here and you call yourself a Christian and yet you are embracing things that the Bible condemns and calls evil, you haven’t submitted your life to the authority of Scripture.

 Application: My friends, truth isn’t relative, and you don’t get to decide what is good or evil. God has already declared it.

  Transition: What happens from the journey of Capturing your attention…to availability…to revelation of his character? What happens next?

 Let’s look at this fourth principle.

When God Calls…

• A Moment that Captures You
• Your Availability
• God’s Revelation of His Character
• Learn God’s Heart

This is a season of preparation.

Exodus 3:7-9
 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.

  Look at God’s heart here.

• I have sure seen the affliction…
• I have heard their cry…
• I know their sufferings…
• I have come down to deliver them…

 This is the good news of Jesus on display right here.

• Our Lord knows the predicament that Sin has placed us in. Evil must be dealt with.
• God has heard the cries of humanity…Lord, come and rescue us.
• The Lord knows our suffering…as a matter of fact, he took on flesh and suffered in our place.
• It says in Isaiah, that the Messiah, the anointed, “…is a man of sorrows familiar with suffering.”
• And He has come down to deliver us.

 This is why we celebrate Christmas – that the divine took on flesh and dwelt among us.
 Jesus came to deliver us.

Did you know that after God’s call on the Apostle Paul’s life, he took three years in the Arabian desert studying?

 Application: The Apostle Paul said to Timothy…

2 Timothy 2:15
 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.

 Some of you have been moved by these events over the last 10 days…and you think you are ready to get in the game…and you have zeal.

 But listen to the word…

Proverbs 25:2
 Desire without knowledge is not good,
and whoever makes haste with his feet misses his way.

 You are zealous because you see evil…but are you ready to:

• convey God’s heart?
• Do you have the knowledge necessary to influence?
• Are you committed to studying the Scripture and being discipled?
• 
  

 Listen, how you as a Christian respond to these events of evil matter.

Last Principle…on the call of God…

When God Calls…

• A Moment that Captures You
• Your Availability
• God’s Revelation of His Character
• Learn God’s Heart
• God’s Clear, Specific Call Upon Your Life

Exodus 3:10
 “Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”

  Notice this…

 “Come, I will send you to Pharoah…that you may bring my people…out of Egypt.”

 The closer Moses got to God…the clearer his call became.

In March of 2009, Julee was 8 months pregnant with Carson. We were being evaluated as a family for me to take the role as the senior pastor.

 There was a 17-member evaluation committee. And let me just say, that season wasn’t my fondest memories of my time here at the church.

 They were seeking God. And whether they knew it or not, I was too. I needed to know that God was calling me into this role. I needed to hear from God. I needed to have him get clear with me on what He wanted. So, I was asking God to speak to me…to call me or to change my course.

 Julee heard that Chris Tomlin was going to be in town. So, she bought us concert tickets. We love his music and his ministry and so we attended the concert.

 Tomlin’s song, God of this City was toward the end, and the entire arena was singing it together. And as we sang it, the Holy Spirit spoke to me:

                “Through the Church…To the City.”

 Tears began to fill my eyes. I look over at Julee P and she is wiping tears, worshipping the Lord, and I knew right then that He has spoken to her as well…

 “Through the Church…To the City.”

 Did you know that Jesus didn’t always:

• say what others wanted him to say,
• or stay where others wanted him to stay,
• or do what others wanted him to do?

 Refused to go to the Feast on His brothers’ terms (John 7:1–9): His brothers urged Him to go to Judea and show Himself publicly. Jesus said, “My time has not yet come.”

 Did not stay in Capernaum when people begged Him to (Mark 1:35–38): After healing many, crowds wanted Him to stay. Instead, He said, “Let us go on… for that is why I came.”
 Jesus’ whole ministry could be described as submitting to the Father’s will rather than the crowd’s agenda (cf. John 5:19, John 12:49).

 Why is that?

 Because He knew God’s call on his life.

The closer you get to Him, the clearer your call will be.


This blog is based on the message shared by Senior Pastor Dr. Roger Patterson on Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025 from our CityRise Church Bellaire campus. Check out the full message below!