The Burning Bush Administration

Intro

This week our kids have been learning about Moses. All week at VBS they have followed the story of Moses’ service to God. So, I figure if the kids can talk about Moses for a whole week, we can talk about him today and our families might have some cool conversations over lunch about Moses and his life.

So, we are going to look at Moses and the burning bush, which is the story the kids learned about on their first night, Monday, with Lois. And today we were learn that Moses had a past, Moses had a call, and Moses had a promise; and all of these empowered him to serve God- and we too have all of these things.

Moses Had a Past

Maybe you have a past- some things about you or your life that you are not proud of, things you don’t want anyone to know; even things that you think will keep you from ever being able to serve God- at least to serve God in a big way. Moses knew something about that.

Moses had a past- and some of it was not good. In fact, his past is the very thing that God him in the position he was in. Listen to Exodus 2:11-15

English Standard Version Chapter 2

11 One day, when Moses had grown up, he went out to his people and looked on their burdens, and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his people. 12 He looked this way and that, and seeing no one, he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. 13 When he went out the next day, behold, two Hebrews were struggling together. And he said to the man in the wrong, “Why do you strike your companion?” 14 He answered, “Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid, and thought, “Surely the thing is known.” 15 When Pharaoh heard of it, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and stayed in the land of Midian. And he sat down by a well.

Ok, you may have a past, but I am pretty sure most of us do not have murder in our past. Moses had killed a man, and in this moment he was talking to God in a burning bush being called to deliver all of God’s people. There is an old adage that every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future. In other words, we all have pasts, but none of our pasts are too big for God to work with.

God was not surprised by Moses’ past. It was not like he was hiring him and in the middle of the interview an angel walked up with Moses’ resume and God got an uneasy look and said “I’m sorry, this isn't going to work after all.” No, God knew who Moses was and had already made pardon for his sin and called him anyway. Now, it was on Moses to walk in the forgiveness he needed to do what God was asking him to do.

You know, if you will let go of your past, your past will let go of you. It is funny because most of the time the person holding your past the hardest against you is you. Now, don’t get me wrong, there are certainly those in our lives who judge us and hold grudges and pain against us, but that does not disqualify us from the service of God.

There was another part of Moses’ past too. A part that helped him as well. Moses had grown up in the King’s house! Remember, he was raised by the Pharaoh's daughter- he was no stranger to the people and the place that he was being called to go. While part of his past sought to destroy him, another part of his past sought to empower him. I bet it is the same for all of us here. While we all have stories that can wreck us, we can all also testify that there are parts of our lives that God has used for the specific calls he has issued to us.

Moses had a Call

There was a specific call that was laid out for Moses. Something that God wanted him to accomplish and something God had made him to do long before he ever knew that he needed to do it. What was Moses’ call? We see it in 3:10 “Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”

God knew exactly what it was he had called Moses to do, and now it was Moses’ time to walk with this purpose at the center of his life.

Proverbs 16:4 tells us “The LORD has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of trouble.

We were all made for a purpose. I do not believe that God has put his Divine Breadth in any person with no more purpose than to live, make money, have a hobby, and die. No, we all have a call to do something substantial for the Kingdom of God, but the reality is that many graves are filled with bodies that never lived our that purpose.

Maybe your call is to be a pastor, maybe its to be a deacon, maybe it is to lead mission work, or to hold a Bible Study in your home. Maybe it is to be an encouragement for other Christian moms, or to lead a men’s prayer time with the guys at your work. Chances are that we all have multiple calls across multiple times in our lives. Sure, we might have overarching calls that last a life long- like my call to be a pastor; but we also have other tasks that God had commissioned us for.

So many times Christians ignore their need to be functioning in a call. If all you are doing with your life in Christ is coming to church, listening to a sermon, and posting Christian memes on Facebook, then chances are your spiritual life is going to seem dead and empty, because God calls us into action when he calls us into faith.

Now, for those of us who are resisting, or even running from God’s call, and those who have not been listening for it, there is hope today. The Bible is full of stories about call- from Abraham to Jacob, to Ruth and Ester, to Paul and John the Apostle. While some of these people immediately followed the call of God; we also know that some- list Moses, Jonah- ran or rejected God’s call at first. They made excuses and said “But...” and yet God still used them in mighty ways. Our temptation to reject the call of God does not mean God cannot use us greatly.

Moses Had a Promise

Because Moses had a call, Moses had a promise. In fact, there are 2 promises in this text- one for the entire nation and one for Moses- for all the people God promised:

Exodus 3:8 ESV

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.

and For Moses God promised:

Exodus 3:12 ESV

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.”

When God issues a call, that call always comes with a promise. That promises is bond and sealed with the blood of Jesus Christ.

When I think of the promises of God, I’m reminded of the story of the young man who had a dream to go to America. He scrimped and saved, and did everything in his power to save enough money to buy a ticket on a boat bound for America. The day came when he had precisely the amount of money needed, and he went immediately and purchased that ticket. The ship was to leave the next day, so with great excitement, and with all of his possessions wrapped neatly in a blanket he boarded the ship, and settled down for his great journey. After the first couple of days, the young man had exhausted the meager supply of food that he had been able to scrimp and save in his blanket, and he began to get hungry. He knew that if he could only survive for a few days more, he would enjoy all the riches that America promised.

It was that evening that a steward found him preparing to sleep in a secluded corner on deck. The steward confronted him, accusing him of being a stowaway. Protesting his innocence, the young man produced his ticket. The steward apologized, but then asked "but why are you sleeping here on deck, when you have quarters below"? When the young man replied that he had only enough money for the passage but no room, the steward explained that the room was included in the price of the ticket. As the steward led the astonished young man to his room, they passed the large dining room where a sumptuous meal was being laid out. The young man peeked in and saw that the room was filling with people, and the steward told the young man that he could be seated for dinner in about fifteen minutes, as that was included also.

So many times we understand that we have redemption, and we look forward to the beauty of Heaven, but we are ignorant of so much that is in between. We fail to grasp all that God has prepared for us.

As a follower of Jesus, you have a call on your life, and because you have a call on your life you have promises of God that are your to take hold of. No one, and I mean no one, can steal these promises from you. However, you can opt out of them if you want. You can choose to lay them down, void them, or ignore them.

In 2 Corinthians 1:20 Paul says this:

2 Corinthians 1:20–22 ESV

For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory. And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.

The Bible tells us that all of the promises of God are yes and Amen in Jesus. Amen- a word we use all the time as Christians; but do you know what Amen means? Amen is a Hebrew word normally used at the end of a statement to imply its guarantee- it means firm or faithful. Remember when you were little and you wanted to make sure your friend was going to come through with their end of commitment and you broke out the mother of all commitments- the pinkie promise? This is even bigger than that!

When we say amen we are basically saying- let it be- we are standing on the promises of God. Cashing in our guarantee. And the Bible says that every promises God has made is amen- it is firm and steady, so let it be.

What promises are you needing to say amen to today?

Now, Moses had a guarantee- a seal- a reminder- of God’s promises to him too. Listen to what he tells Moses:

Exodus 3:12 ESV

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.”

God says this will be a sign for you- what is the sign? The sign was the giant fiery bush that was talking to him. If you need proof that I am serious, Moses, remember this voice coming from this bush! I don’t know about you, but if I saw a burning, talking bush it would be embedded in my memory forever! If Moses needed a gentle reminder of God, this was his reminder.

We have a reminder of the promise of God too. Remember the verse we read from 2 Corinthians? And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee. It is the Holy Spirit living in you that reminds you of the call and promises of God in your life.

Now, when I get back from vacation we are going to spend a few weeks learning about some of the best promises God has given us for today- our specific context and world in 2021. I hope you will join us for that.

But for today, let me ask, have you heard the call? Have you answered the call? Are you running from the call? What promises do you need to give an amen to today?