The Call
Notes
Transcript
TEXT: Ex 3:1-4
TEXT: Ex 3:1-4
1 Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb.
2 And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.
3 And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.
4 And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.
5 And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.
The Mountain of God
The Mountain of God
1 Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb.
A desert place
In our opening text,
We find that Moses is in a desert place.
A desert represents a place of desolation
A place where life is often incapable of growing and flourishing
A stagnant place
A dry and barren place
This is the kind of place you find yourself in
When you are called of God
But you are not currently heeding that call.
A desert place
The land between your calling, and your destiny
If you are not careful,
You can easily die in the desert
There isn’t much life sustaining resources there
There is little food
And there is even less water
The desert is not the place you want to dwell
Not if you intend to thrive
Midian
Midian
Moses isn’t just in any desert
Moses is in a Midianite desert
And he is living with a priest of the Midianites.
The Midianites can be traced back to Abraham’s second wife
The one we often forget about
And perhaps for good reason
Keturah was her name
And Abraham married Keturah after Sara died.
Unlike Sara, Keturah gave Abraham many sons
But Issac was the son of promise
And like Abraham’s first son Ishmael
His sons from Keturah would cause his children problems in the future.
We find that the Midianites often paired up with the Moabites against Isreal
The Moabites came from another relative of Abraham
That Nephew lot, who had two sons from his two daughters
After his wife became a pillar of salt
Moab and Midian
The son of Lot and the Son of Abraham
They didn’t follow the one true God
That is why you hear God referred to as
“The God of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob”
He was not the God of Moab, Midian, or Ishmael
There was a separation that took place
through a promise made to Abraham, Issac, and Jacob
God commanded Israel to treat the Midianites as adversaries and to destroy them because of the Midianites’ attempts to undermine worship of Yahweh in Israel.
Midianites conspire with Moab to have Balaam curse Israel. (Num 22–24).
And Later, Cozbi, the daughter of a Midianite leader,
Engages in sexual relations with an unnamed man from the tribe of Simeon
As a form of Baal worship
The false God of Fertility, Crops, and Rain
That act, caused a plague to come upon Isreal in Numbers 25,
Killing 24,000 in Isreal,
And God’s Priest ended the plague by putting a Javelin through
The Israelite man and the Midianite woman.
Theologians have noted that this act in Numbers 25, in the context of the Baal worship at Peor,
is considered to be part of the broader spiritual contamination of Isreal
deliberately engineered by the Midianites and Moabites
Perhaps that is why Abraham wisely sends the Sons of Keturah to the east country
Just before Jacob his grandson is born
The one that would be called “Isreal”
6 But unto the sons of the concubines, which Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts, and sent them away from Isaac his son, while he yet lived, eastward, unto the east country.
Hopefully that sheds some more light on our text
It just mentions in passing that Moses was living with a Midianite priest
Who would have worshipped Baal
And Moses didn’t just spend the night there
He married one of the priest’s daughters
and he lived there for 40 years in the desert of Midian
This is what the adversary does to people called of God
First, he tried to kill Moses as a baby
and, I could preach a while on that
The devil always goes after the kids with a promise
He went after Able
He went after Joseph as a child
He went after Moses as an infant
He went after Jesus as an infant
But if he doesn’t successfully take you out when you are young
The next thing the devil does is lead you into the desert
Somewhere far away from your destiny
Where you can be distracted by the daughters of a Midianite priest
and before you know it,
40 years have passed
And you wonder if you even have a purpose anymore
The Mountain
The Mountain
But one day while you are in the desert
You’ll see a Mountain in the distance
And I believe God is always trying to get his people from the desert to the mountain
And in our text, it says that Moses led his flock to the backside of the desert
and then it says, he came to the mountain of God
1 Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb.
And this is how it often happens
God gives you a Purpose and Calling
The devil tries to kill you when you are young
Then the devil leads you to a desert place
But when you are just going about your business in the desert
One day you find yourself at the base of the Mountain of God.
You probably didn’t even intend to go there
You’ve been distracted for years in the desert
And then out of nowhere
You find yourself climbing up a mountain
And God begins to lead you to higher ground
And in the mountain tops you can see farther
And it is there, on the Mountain of God
That you start to remember
I have a purpose
I have a calling
I was born for something more than dying in the desert
And while you were in that desert place
Distracted by the Daughter of a Midianite Priest
Which represents the things of this world
Which lure you away from God’s purpose
You stay distracted as long as you are in the desert
That’s why Abrham wanted Isaac and Isreal to be separated from Midian and his brothers.
Midian is a distraction of the world
but when you get to the Mountain of God
That is when God can do things to get your attention
Things that you would have ignored in the desert place
Where you were distracted
But things that now grab your attention on the mountain of God
The Bush that Wouldn’t Burn
The Bush that Wouldn’t Burn
The attention getter God used in our text was a burning bush in verse 3
But not just any burning bush.
A bush that was burning,
but not being consumed.
If that doesn’t get your attention
I don’t know what will.
2 And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.
Wake Up Calls
Wake Up Calls
This burning bush represents what I call a wake up call
God sends them to us often
When nothing else seems to be getting our attention
The come in the form of storms
And they come in the form of trials
and they come in the form of tragedy
But rest assured
The wake up calls will come.
My mom and I visited a relative that had a heart attack a while back
He died on the way to the hospital
They were able to revive him when he got there.
But it was a close call
My mom told him,
You know this is a wake up call from God
And he replied,
I guess I’ve had a few of them lately
He proceeded to testify about many close calls over the previous 6 months
I said, maybe it is about time you answer the phone
Because, let me tell you something
The wake up call is not going to ring forever
If you keep ignoring it
Pretty soon, the phone will go silent
And that is a scary place to be in
When even God stops trying to get your attention
9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
It is not his will that any should perish
but that ALL come to repentance
That means, He wants you to answer the wake up calls in life
And not just as it pertains to salvation
But as it pertains to your purpose
There are too many laborers
Holding church pews down
That God has called to do so much more
But they won’t answer the call
There are many reasons why people don’t answer
And we will talk about those reason in this series
But for now, I just want to stress that when God calls
You need to answer
When God does something to get your attention
Don’t ignore it
Pick up the phone
And Answer the Call!
Turning Aside
Turning Aside
Verse 3 says:
3 And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.
After 40 years of being distracted in the desert by the daughter of a Midianite
Moses finally “turned aside”
This turning aside is a pivotal moment in answering the call of God
It indicates that you changing directions
Like repentance is turning from sin unto God
This turning aside moment for Moses
Was turning away from 40 years of being distracted
To start the next 40 years of being used mightily by God.
We see a similar moment in many biblical characters
And I can point to that moment in my own life
I can also guarantee that if I passed the microphone
There are many in this room that could testify
About a time and a place where they “turned aside to see what God was doing”
When God does something to get your attention
You’ve got 3 choices
You can turn away intentionally ignoring it
You can miss it complete because of distractions in your life
Or you can turn aside and see what God has in store
Moses chose option 3
And, we will see the importance of turning aside in the very next verse
4 And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.
Notice the order of operation here
God did not prematurely call Moses by name
God waited for that “turning aside” moment
And When the LORD saw that turning aside moment
Then and only then
Did God Called unto Moses
and He said, Moses Moses
I want to remind someone here
God knows you by name
He knows how many hairs are on your head
He formed you in your mother’s womb
And he knows how many days you have left on this Earth
If you have been waiting to hear from God
And all you hear is radio silence
There is a couple of things that could be causing the silence
You are in the desert place of Distraction, or
God is waiting for you to “turn aside”
Turning aside means putting something away that mean less than God’s purpose
Turning aside means laying down distractions
Turning aside means putting your eyes on Jesus
Turning aside means putting your focus on His will
Turning aside means taking another step in faith toward Jesus
Turning aside means to stop trying to fix your problems, and give them to God
Turning aside means strenghthening your commitments to church, to the kingdom, to prayer, to fasting, to reading your Bible and to witnessing
When you “turn aside” you are going toward your calling
And away from distractions.
When Moses turned aside,
THEN God called him by name
Moses Moses!
4 And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.
Here am I
Here am I
Now that God has called you by name
It is time to respond
There are three responses once again
Ignore God and turn back to what you were doing
Tell Him no, I’m not doing that Lord, Or
Here I am
Moses chose option number 3
And simply said
“Here I Am”.
There’s something about phrase that is so simple
but it is so powerful
You’ve got to have the “Here I Am” moment if you want to be used of God
11 And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.
2 And God spake unto Israel in the visions of the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob. And he said, Here am I.
4 That the Lord called Samuel: and he answered, Here am I.
10 And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord.
8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.
“The Here am I” moment is the moment you are ready to answer the call
“Here am I” means, I’m listening
I’m paying attention
I’m ready to go where you want me to go
I’m ready to do what you want me to do
I just want to take a minute to tell somebody
That your “Here am I” moment is coming
You’ve been beat up
You’ve been hurt
You’ve been distracted
You’ve been struggling
And tonight can be your night to say
Lord.. I’m here
I might be broken
But I’m here
I might be hurt
But I’m here
I might have a trouble past
… I might have been here before and left a hundred times
… I might have fallen 1000 times
… I might have anxiety
… I might have problems I can’t solve
BUT HERE AM I
Sometimes I have to remind the devil that too
You might have tripped me up yesterday
But I’m still here
I’m not quitting
I’m not backing down
I’m not going back to that desert place
I’m on the mountain of God
and God has called me by name
and HERE AM I
Holy Ground
Holy Ground
I’m coming to a close
In the last verse of our text
After Moses turned aside
Then God called him by name
And Moses responded “Here I AM”
Then God says, wait
Don’t come close to me yet
Let’s read it again
5 And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.
You see, Moses
You’ve been running around that desert place for 40 years
And to get close to me
Some things have to change
I know it isn’t popular preaching in 2024
But my Bible still says
14 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:
And in our text, the Lord says
I know you turned aside
And I know I called you by name
And I know you answered “Here am I”
But I need you to do one more thing for me
Take your shoes off
because you’re standing on holy ground
In the 19th century
The Southern Methodist Church began to preach holiness
And in what would become to be known as the Holiness Revival or Holiness Movement
There were reports of spontaneous miracles
Outpourings of the Holy Spirit
People speaking in tongues
And people falling on altars weeping uncontrollably
They only changed one thing
They followed Holiness
Holiness is not a list of rules to follow
Holiness is not a dress code
Holiness is not legalism
If you think holiness is legalism
Then you don’t have holiness
Holiness is a desire to please God
When Adam and Eve knew they were naked
They covered themselves with fig leaves
And the Bible says that God made them coats of animal skins
Your idea of holiness is never going to be the same as God’s idea of holiness
We are carnal
We are sinful
We are fallen
But when God’s Spirit begins to work in a person’s life
A person that turns aside, and says “Here I AM”
Then things begin to change automatically
True holiness is a change in your heart
It is a change from the inside
And when it happens you won’t complain when God says to take off your shoes
You’ll ask Him, what else Lord
What else do you want me to give up
What else can I do to please you
I don’t care what I have to do
As long as I get to stand on Holy Ground
As Long as I get to be in your presence!
Altar
Altar
Let’s All Stand
Some of us in this room are at different places right now
Some are in the desert of distraction
And God is calling you back to the Mountain of God
Some of us are on the Mountain
But you can’t hear God’s voice
and He is waiting for you to have that “turning aside” moment
Some of us have turned aside
We just haven’t said Here I AM Lord
Use me
And Some of us said Here I AM
But then God said
Ok, but first, take your shoes off
And “taking your shoes off” represents
Something that God is asking you to lay down
And it will always be hard to lay it down
Abraham had to lay his own son on the Altar
But God is going to test you to see if you really want to be close to him
Or if you’d rather have something temporary from the world more than Him
Where are you at tonight?
Are you in the desert place?
Are you on the mountain needing to hear him call your name?
Are you holding onto something that God wants you to lay down?
These Altars are open, and the live feed is ending now
It is just us in this room
Let’s all find a place to pray
The Call
The Call