Fire ~ Footpath ~ Food The Lifestyle of the Miraculous

Introduction

One semester in Bible College (about 40 years ago) I was taking 2 classes that were destined to collide.

“Homiletics” (learning how to compose and deliver a sermon)

and

“The Penteteuch” (a study of the 1st 5 books of the Bible… the books written by Moses)

In Homiletics we had studied how to assemble a message,

And we had been given keys to engage your listeners.

But one thing that we were left on our own to discover was how to figure out WHAT God wanted you to preach ABOUT!

I mean there’s a whole Bible full of stuff to preach.

I was struggling to figure out what the topic of this... my very first sermon would be.

MEANWHILE

In Penteteuch Class we had learned how dissect passages in the Bible to make sure we understood the meaning.

My professor… Brother Hartwick... taught us a technique called “Chapter Charts.”

We had gone all the way through Genesis and I was up to Exodus. Chapter 2

I came to the end of the chapter when I ran into these verses:

Exodus 2:23–24 NIV

They groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God.

God heard their groaning and He remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob.

God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them

My eyes immediately fixated on the word:

Concerned.

I read the verse again. And again, and again.

I don’t think I had ever heard that word applied to God before.

GOD… was concerned.

That Word became… Alive… in me.

THEY… mattered to God. I… mattered to God.

I began to weep.

And… suddenly… I knew the topic of my 1st ever sermon.

“God Is Concerned.”

The content of that message has LOOOOONG since faded from memory.

But the concept is still firmly cemented in my mind.

What’s happening in our lives is a matter of concern to our Heavenly Father.

As Moses led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt they had very little idea of what God is like, or what living for Him looked like.

But God had every intention of teaching His chosen people how they should BEST live.

When God called Abraham, He promised Abraham that he would be… “The Father of many nations.”

God spoke to Abraham. God spoke to His son Isaac. God spoke to Isaac’s son Jacob. God spoke to Jacob’s son Joseph.

But... After that... The Bible records Not. One. Word. from God for over 400 yrs.

I’m not saying that God did nothing... that he didn’t speak to individuals...

I’m saying that God gave no instruction about Himself that was of the type to be included in scripture.

When Moses came along, God’s “Chosen People” didn’t even know His name.

All they had was a generic word for god that would likewise apply to all the false gods of Egypt where they lived.

So God gave Moses the responsibility of introducing Israel to their God.

We know about the 10 commandments.

And roughly 600 others that God gave the people through Moses.

But that’s not the BIG lesson.

The thing that God most wanted the people to know was how to live a life of intimate closeness to Him.

A life of closeness with God will result in a life of miraculous intervention by God.

So tonight we’re looking a 3 lessons that God taught Moses... so that Moses could teach the people.

To teach these lessons, God uses 3... object lessons.

They are:

FIRE ~ Footpath ~ FOOD The Lifestyle of the Miraculous

FIRE ~ Hearing the Voice of God

When God introduced Himself to Noah it was from the middle of a burning bush.

Moses spent the 1st 40 years of his life in the palaces of Egypt.

He spent the next 40 years in the desert, watching sheep.

As far as Moses knew, his days of being the center of attention were in the past.

He was a living a simple life, and he was okay with that.

Then, one day, Moses glimpses a bush on fire. Maybe a little bit unusual (unless some lightning had started the fire.)

But nothing exceptionally special going on.

Perhaps in the boring life of a shepherd a bush on fire was an interesting change of scenery.

1. God Will Get Your Attention

Exodus 3:2 ESV

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.

Now it isn’t God’s 1st choice to set the world on fire in order to talk to you.

He much prefers for us to be engaged in conversation with Him on a regular basis.

Then when He has something specific to say

2. You Have to Stop and Listen

Exodus 3:3 ESV

And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.”

What would have happened if Moses had disregarded the bush...

or had been afraid and run away.

Contrast this with Adam and Eve who ran and hid from God’s voice after they had sinned.

Genesis 3:8 ESV

And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

God doesn’t (usually) grab you by the shoulders and shout, “Listen to me.”

He calls and then waits for you to respond.

Illus.: Samuel being called by God.

3. God Won’t Leave You Hanging

Exodus 3:4 ESV

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.”

God created you to fellowship with you.

He isn’t going to miss a chance to talk with you.

Have you ever had the misfortune of having someone ask you a question, and then continue talking before you answer?

God isn’t like that.

Psalm 66:19–20 ESV

But truly God has listened; he has attended to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, because he has not rejected my prayer or removed his steadfast love from me!

God cares about you. God wants to talk WITH you.

What you have to say matters to God.

4. Holiness Matters

Exodus 3:5 (ESV)

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

Don’t assume that because God speaks to you that He is okay with your sin.

Moses realized that.

Exodus 3:6 NIV

… At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.

Remember, though... We can never be holy enough to EARN Heaven.

Salvation is a free gift. God GIVES you RIGHTEOUSNESS In Gratitude... We give Him our HOLINESS.

Your lack of holiness won’t stop God from talking to you.

It hinders your ability to hear him.

Picture a long, large pipe. One of those talking pipe like they have at a playground. I’m standing on one end. You are standing at the other.

I can talk to you through the pipe, and you can hear me as if I was standing next to you.

When we allow anything in our lives that God condemns... Sin...

It gunks up the pipe.... Fills it full of mud.

The more the pipe is gunked-up the harder it is to hear.

Psalm 24:3–4 NLT

Who may climb the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? Only those whose hands and hearts are pure, who do not worship idols and never tell lies.

Other translations say: “Clean Hands” and a “Pure Heart”

5. When God Speaks Listen Carefully

God doesn’t specialize in small talk.

God is purposeful. God is intentional.

God may be telling you about His Love for you:

Jeremiah 31:3 NIV

...I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.

God may be calling you to Himself:

Acts 9:3–4 ESV

Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”

God may be correcting your actions:

Jesus was constantly calling out the Pharisees for pretending to be holy when they weren’t.

Hebrews 3:15 NLT

“Today when you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts as Israel did when they rebelled.”

Footpath ~ Following the Leading of God

The Israelites had no more that gotten started on their journey to the promised land when they hit a snag.

God led them to a narrow stretch of land between a rocky hillside, and the Red Sea.

Anyone looking on would have said... “THAT was a bad move.” “They are totally vulnerable there.”

But God had a plan.

And sure enough the scouts that Pharaoh had trailing the children of Israel rushed back and said, “those Israelites don’t know their heads from a hole in the ground.”

Pharaoh’s heart was once again hardened and he decided that he was getting his slaves back.

So he heads out with an army of Charioteers.

The Bible says:

Exodus 14:7 ESV

and took six hundred chosen chariots and all the other chariots of Egypt with officers over all of them.

It takes very little time at all for the charioteers to overtake the slow moving Israelites.

Of course the Israelites haven’t had much time walking in this miraculous lifestyle… so...

they panic.

Exodus 14:11 ESV

They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt?

We can be quick to judge the Israelites.

But how many times have you wanted to look up to God and say:

“What were you thinking?”

Exodus 14:13–14 NLT

But Moses told the people, “Don’t be afraid. Just stand still and watch the Lord rescue you today. The Egyptians you see today will never be seen again. The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.”

What is the course of action here?

Don’t be afraid

Stand still

Watch the Lord

Be rescued

Just stay calm

When you live in the lifestyle of the Miraculous, you get used to opportunities for God to show-up and show-off.

You just follow the path that opens up.

And a path...

Is about to open-up!

Exodus 14:15–16 NLT

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the people to get moving!

Pick up your staff and raise your hand over the sea. Divide the water so the Israelites can walk through the middle of the sea on dry ground.

God’s plan may be unconventional.

You’re going to cross a sea… with a stick.

But unconventional is where the miraculous begins.

After all... If you could do it... It wouldn’t be a miracle.

Scripture says they walked through on dry ground.

Not only was the water moved to either side, but the sludge at the bottom is dried up so they make a clean get away.

But there is something about this miraculous intervention that you need to see.

There are mountains of water on either side of them.

The ground beneath them is dry, but it’s still uneven and rocky.

EVEN in a miracle you still have the voice of the enemy going:

“Yeah but what if you get in the middle and all this water comes crashing down on you?”

Also,

We expect God to do everything to smooth out the path, but He usually leaves some rocks along the way for us to navigate.

It keeps us focused on Him.

They trusted God. They navigated the rock seabed. They kept their focus off the mountains of water and on God.

The result?

The weight of Egyptian slavery that had hung around their necks for 400 years was LITERALLY washed away in a flood behind them.

A lifestyle of the miraculous will see an end the heavy weights that hold you back.

FOOD ~ Receiving the Provision of God

The Israelites were only one month out of Egypt, and... food… was getting scarce.

The children of God did… what the children of God often do.

They whined.

Exodus 16:3 MSG

...“Why didn’t God let us die in comfort in Egypt where we had lamb stew and all the bread we could eat? You’ve brought us out into this wilderness to starve us to death, the whole company of Israel!”

At some point in our journey with Jesus we have to shift our attention from our problems to the problem solver.

God gives the Israelites a very specific solution.

A solution of... Manna

Exodus 16:31 ESV

Now the house of Israel called its name manna. It was like coriander seed, white, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.

Most of you know my theory.

Vanilla Wafers.

I could live on a diet of Vanilla wafers.

Exodus 16:4 ESV

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not.

Don’t ask for more than you need

Matthew 6:11 ESV

Give us this day our daily bread,

Exodus 16:5 ESV

On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily.”

God wants the people to be focused on the giver, not the gift.

So he reminds them that the 7th day is Holy. There won’t be any manna on the ground

They God goes even further and sends a vast… swarm of quail flew through the camp.

All they had to do was stand there with a basket turned sideways.

Talk about your fast food.

God already had a plan to feed them

Matthew 6:7–8 NLT

“When you pray, don’t babble on and on as the Gentiles do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again.

Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him.”

A pitfall of the miraculous lifestyle is the possibility of becoming presumptuous on the blessings of God.

“Gather each day what you need”

They would gather more.

“Leave none until morning”

They tried to hoard it and it would become full of maggots.

“Gather twice as much on the 6th day, to rest on the 7th”

They would go out on the 7th day and find none.

It took time but the people eventually got it.

Trust, but don’t become greedy.

Exodus 16:32 ESV

Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Let an omer of it be kept throughout your generations, so that they may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.’ ”

God’s provision is meant to be a faith-builder.

God did it before.

God will do it again.

Closing