The Burning Bush (Part 1)
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
John Wesley wrote the following letter from his deathbed to William Wilberforce to encourage him in his prolonged fight against slavery in England:
“Unless the divine power has raised you up.... I see not how you can go through your glorious enterprise in opposing that [abominable practice of slavery], which is the scandal of religion, of England, and of human nature. Unless God has raised you up for this very thing, you will be worn out by the opposition of men and devils. But if God be for you, who can be against you? Are all of them together stronger than God? Go on in the name of God, and in the power of His might.”
For the last few weeks, we have been given a glimpse of Moses early life and last week we ended with him living in Midian, where he is starting a family and the Lord, in His perfect timing, is ready to free the Israelites. Tonight, we are going to look at the first conversation between the Lord God Almighty and Moses. We are going to break chapter 3 into two parts. Tonight, we will be looking at the first 10 verses. If you have your bible, please join me in Exodus chapter 3. If you have never read a bible or if you don’t know where Exodus is, it is the second book of the bible, right after Genesis.
Meanwhile, Moses was shepherding the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. Then the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire within a bush. As Moses looked, he saw that the bush was on fire but was not consumed. So Moses thought, “I must go over and look at this remarkable sight. Why isn’t the bush burning up?”
When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called out to him from the bush, “Moses, Moses!”
“Here I am,” he answered.
“Do not come closer,” he said. “Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” Then he continued, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Moses hid his face because he was afraid to look at God.
Then the Lord said, “I have observed the misery of my people in Egypt, and have heard them crying out because of their oppressors. I know about their sufferings, and I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and to bring them from that land to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the territory of the Canaanites, Hethites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. So because the Israelites’ cry for help has come to me, and I have also seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them, therefore, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh so that you may lead my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.”
(Prayer)
I’ve broken down this teaching into three sections, the first being “Responding to the Call”
Responding to the Call
Responding to the Call
Meanwhile, Moses was shepherding the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. Then the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire within a bush. As Moses looked, he saw that the bush was on fire but was not consumed. So Moses thought, “I must go over and look at this remarkable sight. Why isn’t the bush burning up?”
When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called out to him from the bush, “Moses, Moses!”
“Here I am,” he answered.
While Moses working, so is the Lord. We see that God is about to put His plan into action to free the Israelites. Part of the Lord’s plan is to choose Moses as the leader. Notice what I said, God chose Moses, not the other way around.
Why did God choose Moses? Was it because of his looks? No. Was it because of his power and rule as a leader in Egypt? Nope. That’s been stripped away? Was it because Moses was perfect? Not even close. Remember, Moses killed an Egyptian. So why did God choose Moses to be the leader? Moses has a faithful and obedient heart.
Many years after Moses, Israel was looking for a new king to replace Saul. When one of the prophets, Samuel, was looking, the Lord reminded Samuel who the “right” guy would be.
When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and said, “Certainly the Lord’s anointed one is here before him.”
But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or his stature because I have rejected him. Humans do not see what the Lord sees, for humans see what is visible, but the Lord sees the heart.”
When the Lord chooses a leader, He wants someone who will be faithful to Him. We can infer that Moses had an obedient and faithful heart because of his response.
“Here I am.”
As followers for Jesus Christ, we are commanded to be faithful and obedient to what He calls us to do. The question is, do we have hearts that are willing to be faithful and obedient to Him, no matter the circumstances.
After Moses faithful response, we see that God shows Moses who He is, “Holy and Living.”
The Holy and Living God
The Holy and Living God
“Do not come closer,” he said. “Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” Then he continued, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Moses hid his face because he was afraid to look at God.
The Lord here is confirming with Moses that He is the One and True God. The removing of Moses sandals is a symbol of respect for being in the presence of God. Many cultures across the world and even some people here in America today continue this practice and will not where their shoes/sandals when approaching the altar or teaching the Word of God.
We also see that God is saying He is a living God. Let’s re-read verse 6;
Then he continued, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Moses hid his face because he was afraid to look at God.
Who was here for the Mark study. Does anyone remember about the debate Jesus had with some religious leaders about the resurrection?
Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him and questioned him: “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, leaving a wife behind but no child, that man should take the wife and raise up offspring for his brother. There were seven brothers. The first married a woman, and dying, left no offspring. The second also took her, and he died, leaving no offspring. And the third likewise. None of the seven left offspring. Last of all, the woman died too. In the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife will she be, since the seven had married her?”
Jesus spoke to them, “Isn’t this the reason why you’re mistaken: you don’t know the Scriptures or the power of God? For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like angels in heaven. And as for the dead being raised—haven’t you read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the burning bush, how God said to him: I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob? He is not the God of the dead but of the living. You are badly mistaken.”
In this conversation with Moses God is saying; “Hey remember your ancestors who talked about me? Guess what, here I AM! I haven’t forgotten about you and my promises I made to them.”
This is why Moses trembles in fear and hides His face. Moses knows he isn’t worthy to be in front of the Holy and Living God. This brings up a key point;
When you are truly in the presence of the Lord God, you can’t help but feel a sense of awe and fear that will bring you to your knees.
The bible makes it very clear that everyone, believer or non-believer will have their knees bowed when Christ returns;
so that at the name of Jesus
every knee will bow—
in heaven and on earth
and under the earth—
and every tongue will confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
When this happens, how will you respond? With a broken and contrite heart or a prideful heart with gnashing teeth?
Go!
Go!
Then the Lord said, “I have observed the misery of my people in Egypt, and have heard them crying out because of their oppressors. I know about their sufferings, and I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and to bring them from that land to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the territory of the Canaanites, Hethites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. So because the Israelites’ cry for help has come to me, and I have also seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them, therefore, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh so that you may lead my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.”
God is telling Moses, “I have seen everything that has taken place and now is the time to free the Israelites and punish Pharaoh and Egypt for their sins. Oh and by the way, you are to lead my people.”
Next week we will take a closer look at Moses response when God tells Him this, but I want to talk about this action word “Go.”
As the body of Christ, we are commanded to GO and make disciples. Let’s look at Matthew 28:18-20
Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Here in America and across the world, there are a lot of fears, anxiety, tension, and lack of hope. We as the church are called to be a light in this dark world. How? By going and sharing the gospel message.
We may not be called like Moses to lead millions of people of Egypt, but we are called to bring forth the gospel message where we are at. Whether it’s at your school, your after school programs, your job location, the town you leave in, if you are a Christ follower, you have a calling. That calling is to share the gospel message. As each day passes, Christ’s return gets closer and closer. Soon there will be a “too late” in sharing the Gospel Message. Christ will be back and He will make His final judgment on the church and the entire world. Until then, we need to GO! We need to GO! We need to GO! Eternity is at stake for all. Christ is calling us to GO! How will you respond to the call?
(Prayer)