Mountains of Revival Fire

Catch the Fire to Spread the Fire

Background:

· The children of Israel are crying out to God for freedom from slavery.

· God hears their plea.

· God decides to raise up a leader to bring them out

· God chooses Moses to be that leader.

· God uses a burning bush to get Moses’s attention.

Revival fire spreads through flammable vessels!

Exodus 3:1 NLT

1 One day Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock far into the wilderness and came to Sinai, the mountain of God.

Exodus 3:2 NLT

2 There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the middle of a bush. Moses stared in amazement. Though the bush was engulfed in flames, it didn’t burn up.

· Grace Factor – The burning bush evidently symbolized his intent not to consume or destroy his people, but to be their savior, to lead them out of bondage in Egypt and into the Promised Land.[1]

Revival Fire is a Bible Theme

· Abraham’s burning torch between the sacrificial pieces. Causing personal revival

· Prophetic of God’s fire by night for the entire nation. Causing national revival.

· Prophetic of the coming Christ who would baptize his church with the Holy Spirit and fire. Spreading revival to the world. Causing global revival.

Exodus 3:3 NLT

3 “This is amazing,” Moses said to himself. “Why isn’t that bush burning up? I must go see it.”

Sometimes revival finds you

Moses Was not looking for revival

· Like Todd smith saw fire on baptismal.

· We can see a suddenly too

Grace factor-

· if we pray and believe, God will send revival to our children and family, even if they are not looking for it.

· God’s grace is not an excuse for spiritual laziness, but encouragement to those who do not yet see the results of their prayers for family revival.

Exodus 3:4 NLT

4 When the Lord saw Moses coming to take a closer look, God called to him from the middle of the bush, “Moses! Moses!” “Here I am!” Moses replied.

Burning bush

· What was the purpose of the burning bush? -

· to set the world on fire through His church!

Providence – provided an opportunity to introduce Himself to Moses

· Angel of the Lord = God revealed Himself personally

· God SPOKE to Moses directly, vs through a representative

· Pre-Incarnate Jesus

· Type and shadow - Jesus is the light of the world

Burning Bush = Turning Point in History

The burning bush encounter was the turning point in Moses’ life.

Within seconds, Moses experienced personal revival in three ways:

1. through the reminder of his identity, who he is

2. the restoration of his ministry, what he does

3. and the direction for his destiny, where he is going

Revival Fire Displays God’s CHARACTER

Why did God choose to reveal Himself in the form of the burning bush?

The revival fire, as displayed in the Burning Bush, displays God’s Character

The burning bush is a physical display of God’s spiritual attributes

· PASSION – Flames represent passion – for freedom for God’s people

· Living – Self-sufficient – needs no man

· Powerful – Self-perpetuating – God is God all by Himself – I AM WHO I AM

o Burning but not consumed…

· Loving – Prophetic – of fire by night for all of Israel

· Holy – fire is an Outward expression of God’s internal holiness

The heart of revival is based upon KNOWING the character of God.

Revival Fire Brings LIGHT

· Bright – lives in approachable light (1 Tim 6:6) remove shoes – contrast to the Egyptian gods who were characterized as dark and gloomy

· Light Heals - Has Healing properties

· Light shows- the way, brings hope to the darkness of despair

· Light grows - necessary for life

· Light exposes - removes the cloak of darkness

· light reveals - exposes the heart

Revival Fire Brings HEAT

· Melts the cold shoulder Moses was given by his fellow countrymen

· Protects us in harsh times – such as the nights in the wilderness for 40 years.

o Personal testimony: How has the warmth of God’s love protected you during hard times?

Revival foundation: God is bigger than you

· faith lies in someone greater than you.

· For example, the greater (smarter, stronger, richer) they are, the more faith we tend to instill in them.

· Therefore, ultimate faith lies in God alone.

Exodus 3:5 NLT

5 “Do not come any closer,” the Lord warned. “Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground.

Revival Fire STARTS a Chain Reaction

The burning bush was only the BEGINNING, not the end!

Exodus 3:6 NLT

6 I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” When Moses heard this, he covered his face because he was afraid to look at God.

· It takes fire to start a fire

· God’s burning bush was to start Moses heart on fire in which he would be a human torch to light the nation on fire

· Revival will always continue as long as God can find a person to carry the fire to their generation. Let us Commit to the Lord to always fan the flame in us and never let revival die out.

Revival foundation: God is faithful to your family

· Confidence in God’s character builds a foundation for faith for revival.

· God proves His faithfulness to His Word beyond and throughout generations.

· Therefore, we can trust that God will bring to pass what He said, regardless of how long it takes.

Burning Bush – One Time Event

The burning bush experience occurs only once in the Bible.

Religion tries to put God in a box and turn revival into a formula.

Throughout many times in the Bible, God never repeats himself.

From parting the Red Sea to turning water into wine, God intentionally turned the corner when we think we have Him figured out.

Once Moses turned to descend the mountain, the Bible makes no more mention of another burning bush.

Moses would never see it again on this side of Heaven.

If the burning bush or permanent, Moses could have thought to return to it whenever he had a question or ran into a problem.

Another common mistake with revival is becoming enamored with the spectacular while missing the supernatural.

God wants us to follow his supernatural voice inside of us rather than the spectacular miracles in front of us that typically take place during a period of revival.

It is apparent that God‘s intention of the burning bush was to light Moses soul with revival fire. I’m so doing, Moses would a human torch to spread the flame of God’s name to others.

Revival Fire Requires a Receiving Heart

As in the case of the burning bush, Don’t continually look for answers on the outside when God has placed them on the inside of us.

Don’t expect God to reveal himself in the same way for every situation.

For example, Jesus described the Holy Spirit as a wind.

Who blows whichever way He wills invisibly.

Although God’s character is consistently holy and good, he does not always reveal himself in the exact same way.

Our understanding of this point is very important, because that is often where God‘s people misunderstand God‘s ways.

It is easy to assume that if God brought revival in the past to a group of people in a certain way, that he would simply do the same thing for us.

When he does not, those seeking his presence can become confused by misinterpreting today’s move of God with yesterday‘s.

The critics of Jesus day kept demanding for a sign from heaven and other miraculous manifestations to prove the Lord’s authenticity.

Jesus replied that an evil and adulterous generation always looks for a sign rather than trust in God by faith in his word.

Even The Lord‘s apostles of the New Testament church kept staring up into the sky as Jesus ascended into heaven after his resurrection.

These holy men had to be redirected by two angels who reminded them to come down from the mountain and be about the father’s business of bringing the revival message to the ends of the world.

Let us thank God for the burning bush experience as we move forward, being led by his spirit, as we too walk by faith and not by sight.

[1]Elwell, W. A., & Comfort, P. W. (2001). In Tyndale Bible dictionary (p. 242). Tyndale House Publishers.