FOCUS on your BEST MOVE!(Exodus 3.1-14)
Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 16 viewsNotes
Transcript
Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.
There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed.
Then Moses said, “I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up.”
When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.”
Then he said, “Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”
He said further, “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.
Then the Lord said, “I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings,
and I have come down to deliver them from 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 country of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
The cry of the Israelites has now come to me; I have also seen how the Egyptians oppress them.
So come, I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.”
But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”
He said, “I will be with you; and this shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God on this mountain.”
But Moses said to God, “If I come to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?”
God said to Moses, “I Am Who I Am.” He said further, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘I Am has sent me to you.’ ”
INTRO:
I am under the persuasion that focus is absolutely necessary in how effective we live out our lives......
And....
.....the reason behind this thought is that any action we take without focus is not our best action!
(slight pause)
On this past week Dr. Tony Evans book talked about “Reversing the consequences of Emotions”
He introduces experiences called “Emotional strongholds”
He goes on to say that an emotional stronghold means you cannot shake the negative entrapment that has grasped your life resulting in uncontrolled discouragement, depression, and sorrow.
And then he shares something that I found to be quite interesting.....
Because he goes on to say that emotions do not have intellect. They don’t think.
.....but instead the only thing emotions can do is “RESPOND”
…in order for Emotions to operate, they have to borrow thoughts to stimulate feelings.
(pause)
And when I saw that statement I remembered a verse we’ve read in scripture several times that says.....
“As a man thinketh in his heart so is he”
.....and I believe that this scripture enforces this truth of emotions responding to and borrowing our thinking!
(pause)
Meaning.....
…whatever we think about ourselves
......determine how we feel about ourselves
(pause)
And…….
One of the things that is most fascinating to me regarding focus is that it includes looking at the same thing that I have always looked at………………
but now with more clarity……
….and with more precision.
(pause)
And only two things can happen if I look at the same thing long enough………..
Either I will gain focus……………..
or I will lose focus………….
(pause)
And the determining factor is always based on the value we place on whatever it is we see………
(pause)
I cannot look at something that has no value to me…………and stay engaged………….
because sooner or later I will become distracted by something of greater value………to me…
(pause)
And at the very same time...
......if I am locked on to the coordinates of something extremely valuable to me…………
I will eliminate everything else around me………
because there is importance in what I am now visualizing
(pause)
And I believe that if we are not careful we will find ourselves focused only on our emotional response…………….
......instead of focusing on fullfilling our lives in Christ to better control our emotional response
(pause)
And the first thing we have to understand……….
....is that we gain focus through revelation……………and revelation comes only from God!
- We cannot reveal anything worth seeing unless it has been downloaded from a greater source......
(pause)
Because elevation is impossible if it has derived from a source that is equal or lesser than where I am standing…………
(pause)
According to Karl Barth …….theology or how we see God is initiated by God revealing himself to humanity.
(slight pause)
And so from an Christological perspective it is through Jesus Christ that we see clearly who God is………..
(slight pause)
And then that means that in order to ultimately see with focus………..we have to be locked in………..to Jesus Christ….
(pause)
And this means.....
………we must be careful what we are exposed to, because some of the things that we open ourselves up to should have never been seen!
(pause and expound)
Look at it now…………
Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.
There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed.
Then Moses said, “I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up.”
The bible says in verse 1-3……………that Moses is maneuvering through the base of this Sinai mountain region…………and he sees something!
(pause)
And the reason he sees what he sees…………
is because God has revealed what he is seeing………..
(pause)
And I need to help some of us to know that……………..
we cannot see anything greater than ourselves without God revealing it to us………….
(pause)
And here is where most of us mess up………
because we think that we have a choice in whether we gain revelation and focus……………
(pause)
But according to the text………
God did not ask Moses if he wanted God to show up……………
(longer pause)
But according to the text,
the Lord appeared!
(slight pause)
And so now the question becomes………….
how did God appear…………?
(pause)
And.....
.....the interesting discovery is that God appeared to Moses in a way that suggested…………
…….he needs more focus!
(pause)
Because Moses is now looking at something that has elevated his curiousity based on value………..
(pause)
Because Freedom,
there is nowhere else on this mountain……………whereby you will find a bush burning with fire……………..
but not being damaged by the fire.
(pause)
So now Moses has to wrestle with his vision……………in order to gain focus…………….
because now that God has revealed something to me with value………..
I feel a responsibility to describe what I have just been exposed to….
(pause)
And one of the most strategical ways of avoiding emotional strongholds……………
is learning how to stop running away from what God has revealing………….
And at the same time refuse running towards………..
what the Devil is interpreting to us………….
(pause)
And.....
the major difference is that the Devil……………cannot reveal………..
.......he can only falsely interpret!
(pause)
And where we get off track…………is when we refuse revelation……….
and accept the trickery of the enemy……..
(pause)
And the reason we fall for the okie doke……………..is because there is no responsibility involved…………in the devil’s interpretation……..
(pause)
And I don’t have to be responsible for anybody or anything…………when I am not dealing with true revelation………….
(slight pause)
But when I receive revelation…………
it requires something of me……because there is too much value!!!!
(pause)
And there is no way…………….that Moses can now………….simply walk away from this bush………….as if nothing has ever happened………….
(pause)
So now……………here he is stuck………………without explanation……….and full of a newfound desire to gain more focus…………
(pause)
Which is why he says in verse 3…………..
“I will now turn and see this great sight………”
(pause)
And Freedom…………….
the devil can’t stand it…………..when we begin to turn towards God………….in order to gain focus………………
(pause and expound)
Because when we develop our thinking to say…………..
“I want to see more…………….”
according to verse 4
........it causes God to do something extremely powerful!
(pause)
When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.”
In other words…………
Increased focus…………………proves to God………………a readiness to go to another level…………..
(pause)
Because now that God has seen Moses shift…………….now God will bring clarity by speaking to him…………..
(pause)
And that helps me to figure out…………..that focus is more than what you see……
……..but it is also connected to what you hear!
(pause)
And the text says that God calls him…………….by name…………….
(pause)
And the significance for me……………..is the fact that God is specific in how he calls Moses………
(pause)
Because nobody else is out here………
……but God still feels the need to identify who Moses is by name…………..
(pause)
And this tells me…………
…when we focus more on who God is……
we discover how much God desires relationship with us……..
(pause)
Because Elohim does not generalize our existence………
…..but God specifies that I am who God wants………..based on the fact that God called my name…..
(pause)
And I came to tell someone today………
……that God is not going to increase your focus without guaranteeing relationship………….
(pause)
As a matter of fact…………in verse 5………….God gives Moses the requirements of coming closer………….
(pause)
Because the text says……………
“Before you do anything else take off your sandals because you are standing on holy ground”
In other words………….
Take off what has gotten dirty from your journey………
because my presence is now where you are even standing…………..
(pause)
And I wish somebody could understand the level of focus…………that Moses is experiencing right about now……………
Because at this level……. Moses is finding out that when you see more…………..God requires more!
(pause)
And notice that the dirt is not associated with Moses………
......but the dirt is associated with the sandals on Moses feet…………
(pause)
Freedom
Remember now………….
Moses is a murderer……………
but God does not look at a profane Moses and declare that he needs to get rid of himself……….
(pause)
But instead I hear God saying…………..
I can deal with a messed up Moses………..
because I created you in my image……….
(pause)
And I hear God saying,
I know how to get you back to where I need you to be…………
(pause)
But what I need from you…………
is a willingness to take off the stuff that got on you…………….in the journey!
(pause – Are you hearing me in here)
I hear God saying…………….
I don’t have a problem with you………….
I got a problem with the dirt you got on your feet from the journey………..
And all I need you to do………….in order to gain focus………….is to take off some of these emotional strongholds!!
........I need you to stop reacting to the sandals of sin
......and begin responding to Divine Suggestions!
And then in verse 6 God substantiates relationship………….
“I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob”
Meaning………..
Let’s talk about what you already know………..
because in order for transformational focus…there has to be clarity in the area of formation!
In other words……………….
Look at who I have been to everyone before you….…..
(pause)
Freedom,
........the phenomenal thing about focusing on who God is…………..means you get to see everything
(pause)
But never allow focus…………..to include fear…………
God tells Moses at the end of verse 6………do not be afraid to look at me………….
Because the reason that your focus is increasing………….is so that I can show you how to live out your purpose…………
(pause)
And then God says in verses 7-10…….
“I’m getting ready to use you…………….for my glory……”
(pause)
And God says......to Moses,
“The reason I’m getting to use you........
........is because I have seen something that disturbs me!”
(slight pause)
“I have been watching what my children have been going through.......”
and.....
“I have been hearing them cry out to me........”
and.....
“It’s time for me to do something about it.....”
(pause)
Now......
........you would think that Moses would be what Tony Evans calls “Estatic”
to be used by God
......but because of an emotional stronghold watch how Moses RESPONDS to God in verse 11.
(pause)
Look at it.......
But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”
Moses says.......
“Who am I?”
(pause)
In other words......
He is struggling with Self-worth.....
.....he is examining who he is!
.....and as he is examining who he is, he is unsure that he is able to what God is requesting.
And.......
....these emotions that Moses is experiencing are causing him to lose FOCUS!
(pause)
Freedom.......
.....the entire point of the enemy
......is to cause you and I to get so emotional that we lose FOCUS in our lives.
And watch this......
Emotions are not a bad thing.......
......because all EMOTIONS are is a RESPONSE to our thinking.
......but when we don’t have FOCUS our EMOTIONS respond inappropriately
........and once the stronghold of NEGATIVE EMOTIONS sets in we begin going down the wrong road...
(pause)
But I came to help somebody make a UTURN!.......
(pause)
Because God tells Moses in verse 12.....
Look at it.....
He said, “I will be with you; and this shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God on this mountain.”
God says..........
“I will BE...........
........WITH YOU”
And in my spiritual imagination when I read this verse......
God’s words begin to do SURGERY on the heart of MOSES to release him of this emotional stronghold.......
(pause)
And Freedom immediately I begin to hear God saying.......
Your emotions of...........
Loneliness
Rejection
Low self esteem
All of those emotions that caused you to get stuck in this negative pattern of living.....
And....
........everything that has made you lose FOCUS.......
.......is getting ready to STOP!
(pause)
And God told me to tell you........
The way you make this UTURN........
.......is to FOCUS on who he is
......is to FOCUS on who he is for your life
(pause)
And I hear God saying…………….
“If I did not want you to see more………
……..I would have never came down!”
“But because I came down…………
......….now you can FOCUS on your BEST MOVE!”
CLOSING Barrel:
My favorite basketball player growing up was Michael Jordan.....
......and whenever I would watch MJ play
.....on the commercials I would grab my basketball and run outside and practice the MOVES I just saw MJ do in my backyard.
And.......
when I went out to my backyard I didn’t care about my ability in comparison to MJ......
.....all I FOCUSED on is what I just saw
and in my mind.......
........I was saying to myself
“BE like MIKE!”
(pause)
And Freedom......
All I’m saying is,
when we start FOCUSING on GOD like this!
(pause)
when we start using our FAITH to FOCUS on what God has REVEALED about us........
........that’s when we start MAKING our BEST MOVES!
“Make your BEST MOVE!”
COMPLETION!!!