Participants: Charissa Fong
Series Code: 15WAC
Program Code: 15WAC000006A
|
00:16 My sermon title today is entitled:
00:19 "TURN ASIDE AND SEE" and those words 00:22 come to us from a very interesting chapter in the Bible 00:25 If you have your Bibles, I invite you to take them 00:27 and turn with me to the book of Exodus 3. 00:32 An incredible story unfolds for us here in this text, Exodus 3, 00:40 and we are going to begin in the very beginning. 00:43 Notice with me verses 1 thru to 3. 00:49 Exodus 3:1- "Now Moses was tending the flock of 00:54 Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Median, 00:57 and he led the flock to the back of the desert, 01:00 and came to Horeb, the mountain of God." 01:04 By-the-way, Horeb means desolate. 01:05 Verse 2- "And the angel of the Lord appeared to him 01:09 in a flame of fire from the midst of the bush. 01:11 So he looked and behold, the bush was burning with fire, 01:15 but the bush was not consumed. 01:17 Then Moses said, "I will now turn aside and see 01:22 this great sight, why the bush does not burn." 01:25 Now Moses is one of the most interpreted characters 01:29 that we find in all the Bible... 01:30 so much so that many people believe he looks like 01:34 Charlton Heston - that's how they all think of Moses 01:37 when I mention the name. 01:38 And I am sure that on this particular day, 01:41 his day had begun like every other day. 01:44 He was probably wishing for something... anything 01:47 to break the daily monotony of his life 01:50 which was all about tending sheep. 01:53 After 40 years of looking after sheep, 01:56 Moses' life had become incredibly predictable. 02:00 He knew all the best grazing places, 02:02 and all the best waterholes. 02:04 All the locations of those waterholes 02:07 were etched in the back of his mind. 02:09 And to help past the time, he probably 02:13 spent time talking to his sheep, 02:15 and maybe even talking to himself. 02:18 The occasional serpent or snake or wild animal 02:22 would provide the only excitement or dramatic edge 02:26 to his days as he was out there tending sheep. 02:29 And as the years had rolled by, these 40 years, 02:33 with the passing of time, all of his grand dreams 02:36 and hopes of being able to deliver God's people, 02:39 to take them out of Egypt, had grown dimmer and dimmer, 02:42 and I am sure he must have wondered, 02:45 on more than one occasion... 02:46 "Is this all my life has been for?" 02:49 "Is this all I was meant to live for?" 02:52 Little did he know that it was on this particular day, 02:56 here in this wilderness experience of his daily life, 03:00 that Moses was about to encounter God. 03:03 God was waiting to meet him here in this bush encounter. 03:07 And in the distance on this particular day, 03:10 as he is looking after his sheep, 03:11 he looks and his keen watchful eye sees something 03:16 that instantly snaps him out of his thoughts, 03:19 and it arrests his attention. 03:21 Something was burning in the distance - a bush! 03:25 And since there was no real hurry and nothing else 03:28 demanding his attention, curiosity gets the better 03:31 of him and he goes over for a closer look. 03:34 And the closer and closer he comes to this bush, 03:38 the more brilliant the sight before him becomes. 03:41 And I want you to notice in the text that the Bible says 03:44 that the angel of the Lord is the one who appears 03:48 to Moses in this instance. 03:50 Notice it does not say "an angel of the Lord," 03:54 It says, "The angel of the Lord." 03:57 This is not just ANY angel! 03:59 And you say, "Well, who is this celestial visitor." 04:01 This is the same angel of the Lord who appears 04:05 to Abraham in Genesis 22. 04:07 It is also the same angel of the Lord that appears 04:10 to Gideon in the threshing field and to Elijah 04:13 in 1 Kings 19, when he is in the wilderness. 04:16 If you do a study on "the angel of the Lord 04:19 in the Old Testament, you will discover 04:21 that he speaks as God; he identifies himself with God, 04:25 and he exercises the authority of God. 04:29 So this is very important because, 04:30 friends, I believe that the angel of the Lord 04:33 who meets Moses here at this bush, is none other 04:37 than the very One who would 04:38 one day become his Savior as well. 04:40 This is a "theophany" - that's a very fancy word, 04:44 I just wanted to put it in there. 04:46 This is a theophany of Jesus Christ Himself. 04:49 A "theophany" means a visible manifestation of God 04:52 right here. Okay? You following? Yes! Good! 04:57 Now let's keep reading... Verse 4- "So when the Lord 05:02 saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him 05:05 from the midst of the bush and said, "Moses, Moses," 05:09 and he said, "Here I am." 05:12 I was talking to my grandpa about this story 05:15 because I like to talk to people about the Bible because we all 05:17 notice different things when we come to the Scriptures. 05:20 And I said to my grandpa... I said, "Grandpa, 05:23 why do you think God called his name twice?" 05:26 I mean, "Why didn't he just say, "Moses?" 05:28 You know, why did he say, "Moses, Moses?" 05:31 My grandpa looked at me and he said, "I think you've 05:33 been around Avondale for too long." 05:35 The bottom line and this is really the most important thing, 05:38 is that when God calls your name, respond! 05:43 That was an AMEN moment! 05:45 Now, I just want you to know here - and I'm going to chase 05:47 a little kangaroo because I like to chase them... 05:50 But, do you know that God knows your name? 05:53 I was really... I love this verse. 05:55 Just hold your finger in Exodus 3. 05:58 Come over to Psalm 147. 06:00 This is one of my favorite verses and one day 06:03 when I have time, I'm going to spend a lot of time 06:06 studying the stars so I can develop a message on it. 06:09 But Psalm 147:4- Listen to what the Bible says, 06:17 "He counts the number of the stars; 06:20 He calls them all by name." 06:23 I don't know if you've ever gone outside at night, 06:26 in a country place, but there are a lot of stars out there. 06:30 We can't even see all of them from the dark places 06:33 there in the country, but I think to myself, 06:36 that if God knows the number of the stars, 06:39 and He calls them all by name, then God knows me, 06:42 and God knows you as well. 06:44 God is a personal God! 06:45 Back to Exodus, slip over there. 06:47 We're back here in Exodus 3; we're noticing now verse 5. 06:51 "Then He said, "Do not draw near this place, 06:54 take your sandals off your feet for the place where you stand 06:58 is holy ground." 06:59 Put yourself in Moses' sandals for just a moment. 07:04 The ground wasn't holy there because of the geographic 07:07 location of the dirt. 07:09 This ground was holy ground because God's 07:12 presence was there. 07:14 If this was you and you were in his sandals, 07:16 how would you feel? 07:18 Well, whenever we are in God's presence, we are on holy ground. 07:23 I believe that... and I'm not suggesting, this afternoon, 07:26 that we should all take our shoes off 07:28 the moment we entered the sanctuary, 07:30 but what I would like to suggest is that this says to us that 07:33 when we come into the presence of God, we should assume 07:37 a posture of reverence. 07:39 Yes, He's our forever Friend and we can come boldly 07:42 before the throne of Grace and bring our petitions 07:44 there, but He is God! 07:46 He is the Creator! 07:47 He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. 07:49 We need to come into His presence and give Him 07:52 the respect that He deserves. 07:55 I've been to funerals and when the funeral is over, 07:58 and people are filing out of the church, 08:00 and the deceased is in the building... 08:02 out of respect for the deceased, 08:04 everybody doesn't even say a word. 08:06 And yet, when we come to church, sometimes, the moment 08:09 the sermon is finished, we turn it into a marketplace 08:12 with all of our chatter. 08:14 It would be well for us to think about this 08:16 whenever we're in God's presence... 08:18 We need to assume a posture of reverence. 08:22 All right, let's keep reading, verse 6. 08:25 "Moreover, He said, "I am the God of your Father, 08:29 the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob." 08:32 Do you get the impression that God is almost bursting 08:35 to introduce Himself to Moses right here. 08:38 "And Moses hid his face for he was afraid to look upon God." 08:42 Verse 7- "And the Lord said, "I have surely seen 08:45 the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, 08:48 and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, 08:52 for I know their sorrow." 08:54 "So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the 08:58 Egyptians and to bring them up from that land 09:00 to a good and large land, to a land flowing with 09:04 milk and honey to the place of the Canaanites 09:07 and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites 09:09 and the Hivites and the Jebusites." 09:12 Friends, I wish that I knew how to preach on this 09:15 because this is just the most beautiful verse ever! 09:19 Well, I say that about a lot of 09:20 verses when it comes to the Bible. 09:21 But, when my dad first read this several years ago, 09:24 he said to me, "Charissa, you need to preach on the 09:28 cry of God's people," and I couldn't understand it 09:30 until I came and visited the passage 09:32 and parked myself here... 09:33 Because, listen to this... The telephone to glory works! 09:39 I used to have a ringtone on my mobile... 09:41 cell phone if you're in a different country, 09:43 for our American friends... 09:45 But I used to have a ringtone on my phone that was so nice, 09:48 every time my phone rang, I just let it ring 09:50 because I just wanted to hear my ringtone. 09:52 But God is not like me, Amen? 09:55 The Bible wants us, not to miss this, 09:56 God doesn't want you to miss this. 09:58 God wanted His people to know that He had seen 10:02 their oppression and He heard their cry. 10:05 Is there someone here who has been crying out to God lately? 10:09 Perhaps you have been praying and crying out to God about 10:13 something and yet you see no answer from Him. 10:17 Dear Friend, God's message to you from His word 10:20 says that He sees, He knows, He remembers and He hears. 10:26 He understands. 10:27 You and I have never looked into the eyes of someone 10:30 who doesn't matter to God. 10:32 And I want you to notice the progression here... 10:34 First of all, God says, "I have seen the misery of My people." 10:38 Well, you can see something from a distance, right? 10:41 But then the next step, He says, "I have heard their cries." 10:46 In order to hear a cry, you have to 10:48 move in a little bit closer. 10:50 And then God says that He knows their affliction. 10:54 Friends, He is present with them in their experiences, 10:58 and in their suffering. 10:59 We are looking a picture of a personal God right here. 11:03 And you know what, it's nice when someone says that 11:06 they can see what you're going through. 11:07 And it's good when they say that they can hear your pain, 11:11 hear what your struggle. 11:13 And it's helpful when they say that they even know 11:16 what it's like, but it's something else when they say 11:19 to you, "I have come to help you." 11:22 And that's what God is saying here to Moses. 11:25 Verse 9- God continues... "Now therefore, behold the cry 11:30 of the children of Israel has come to Me, 11:33 and I have seen the oppression 11:36 with which the Egyptians oppress them. 11:37 Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh 11:42 that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, 11:44 out of Egypt." 11:48 When I went to the ASI program in August of last year, 11:53 going to America, my dad has never been to America, 11:57 and so he was a bit worried about my sister and I 11:59 traveling to America. 12:01 And so before we left Australia, he said to us, 12:04 "I want you to take my credit card and I want you to take it" 12:07 and I've got the words that he wrote right here... 12:09 He said, "Go have a good time... you see something nice, buy it, 12:12 and treat yourself... You know, if you're hungry, 12:15 eat something - don't starve, eat something." 12:17 So I took dad's credit card with me to America, and we had a 12:22 great time, it was a wonderful time, we had a blessing! 12:25 And while we were over there, I was with some friends, 12:28 and we went to a restaurant, and we ate... 12:30 And at the end when the bill came, I said, "No, I've got 12:32 this," and we had this big fight over it. 12:34 I let them all, you know, try and win the fight, 12:37 and then I said, "No dad said," and everybody backed off, 12:40 because "dad said." 12:42 Then we went shopping and I said to them, 12:44 "Hey, buy yourselves some souvenirs, get a souvenir. 12:47 You're hungry, we haven't had breakfast that day, 12:49 put some food in the trolley, we'll go and we'll eat. 12:52 Put everything you need in here, "Dad said, dad said!" 12:55 So we put all that stuff in; we went to the checkout, 12:58 $80 worth of souvenirs and breakfast food, 13:02 and I was SO happy, whipped out my "dad-said" 13:05 credit card, put it there; she tried to process it, 13:08 and she said, "Sorry ma'am, but this is not going to work." 13:10 And I said, "Well, you sure?" 13:13 And she said, "It's not going to work." 13:14 My friend was with me, she looks at me and she said 13:17 "Dad said, huh?" 13:19 She ended up paying for all of what dad said, 13:21 and when I got home, my dad said, "That's not what I meant." 13:26 "I didn't mean to go and just spend and spend, 13:28 I meant - just for emergencies." 13:30 But, my point was - I think it's a wonderful thing that 13:34 you know, when my dad said something, 13:36 I just believed him, you know, I just took him at his word! 13:40 Amen! Wouldn't you love for your dad to say that to you too? 13:44 But the point here is, really for Moses, there was only 13:48 one response that was necessary. 13:50 God had said... "Go, it's time to go, 13:53 and take My people out of Egypt." 13:55 And the only response he had to give was - to go. 13:59 Right? God had said it, he should do it! 14:02 But instead, Moses - ahh, he proceeds to beat 14:06 around the bush. That was a good one! 14:09 And what follows - we have 5 objections 14:14 that he comes up with to God's call to him. 14:19 And they are worth studying this afternoon because I 14:21 think you and I may discover that some of us 14:24 have more in common with Moses than we might have realized. 14:27 So, what's his first objection? 14:29 Verse 11- "But Moses said to God, who am I that I 14:34 should go to Pharaoh, that I should bring 14:37 the children of Israel out of Egypt." 14:40 Moses can't get his arms around God's calling. 14:44 Who me? Couldn't be! 14:46 Now here was a man who was once a very prominent man, 14:50 from one of the most civilized nations in the world, 14:53 Egypt, he was a prince in Egypt, and, yes, now he is 14:56 self-deposed to the role of a shepherd, 14:58 to the rank of a shepherd, working for his father-in-law. 15:02 But listen, 40 years ago, this man had tried... 15:05 he had volunteered himself to deliver an Israelite. 15:09 Remember? He got really passionate, 15:11 and he ended up killing the man in so-doing. 15:13 But 40 years later, we find a very different 15:17 picture of this man. 15:18 Forty years in the wilderness of watching sheep 15:20 and in the wild has humbled him to the point where 15:24 he has an utter distrust in his own ability. 15:28 What influence could he, a despised shepherd, 15:31 and he knew the Egyptians didn't like shepherds. 15:33 That was a despised vocation! 15:35 What influence could he possibly have over the king of 15:39 the most powerful nation on the planet? 15:41 And the people... well, they didn't even like him! 15:44 They had rejected him when he was a mighty man, 15:46 and what were the odds of them subscribing to his 15:49 leadership now that he was returning from his 15:52 time in the wilderness. 15:53 The odds weren't even worth calculating. 15:55 They'd surely reject him now as surely as night follows day. 16:00 Have you ever felt like Moses? 16:03 I can't go! I can't speak! I'm too shy! 16:07 I have never studied theology at Avondale College! 16:10 I haven't even been to ARISE. 16:13 This is my first witness! Are you kidding me? 16:15 How can I go and serve the Lord? 16:17 Well, who am I that God should call me? 16:23 That's the objection! 16:24 Notice the Divine response... 16:26 Verse 12- "So He said, - God said- I will certainly 16:31 be with you and this shall be a sign to you that I 16:35 have sent you when you have brought the people 16:38 out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain." 16:42 The Divine response, God says, "I will be with you." 16:47 God didn't negate Moses' concerns, they were valid, 16:51 but Moses needn't have worried 16:53 because God assures him of His presence. 16:56 Did you know that the Bible records God saying, 16:58 "I will be with you, I am with you." 17:00 It records that saying over 360 times - in fact 365. 17:06 Which means there's a verse like that, a promise like that 17:09 for every day of our year. 17:12 God wants us to know that He is with us, 17:15 and I can think of no greater promise that this. 17:18 God is manifesting himself to Moses because he intended 17:21 to work through Moses. 17:23 And is it just me or does this verse sound strikingly 17:27 similar to the great commission in Matthew 28 17:31 when Jesus said, "Surely I will be with you 17:33 MOST of the time even to the end of the age"... NO 17:37 Jesus said, "I will be with you" how often? 17:39 ALWAYS - to the very end of the age." 17:43 And so we read on... Verse 13 17:45 "Then Moses said to God"... and he has answered the 17:48 first objection... "Indeed when I come to the children 17:51 of Israel and say to them, "The God of your fathers 17:53 has sent me to you, and they say to me, 17:56 "What is his name?" What shall I say to them?" 17:59 So Moses' first objection was, "Who am I?" 18:03 The next objection is, "Well, who are you?" 18:05 Question: Why would Moses want to know the name 18:10 of God before he goes to the Israelites 18:13 in order to deliver them? 18:15 I can only think of 2 reasons, maybe you can think of more. 18:18 The first reason, perhaps, may have been due to their worship 18:22 of other gods, Egyptians gods. 18:25 We get an indication that this may have been possible 18:27 from Joshua 24:14- That they have been perhaps looking to 18:33 other gods for help, and so when Moses comes 18:36 saying that God has called him, well, they may be wondering 18:39 WHICH of the gods is answering their prayers. 18:42 That's the first reason, and the second reason is 18:44 because one's name is a good indication of one's character. 18:50 If Moses' authority was wrapped up in God's commission, 18:54 and call for him to lead his people out of Egypt, 18:58 then the name by which God chooses to identify Himself 19:01 will capture the essence of his character and will assure 19:05 them of God's willingness to do as He has said He would. 19:09 How does God respond to Moses' objection? 19:13 Verse 14- "And God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." 19:18 And He said, "Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, 19:22 "I AM has sent me to you." 19:25 The Divine response, He responds with His name, 19:29 and it reveals His character and this is good news for us. 19:34 We can have assurance and heart because of this name. 19:37 You say, "Hang on a minute, what does this mean?" 19:39 "I AM" - what does "I AM" mean? 19:42 Friends, the "I AM" is the God who exists independently. 19:47 He is the self-existent One. 19:51 This is why the Spirit of Prophecy says of Christ... 19:53 "In Christ, is life original, unborrowed, 19:57 and underived." "Desire of Ages," p. 530 20:00 He is the One who is and was and is to come. 20:03 This is the God who meets Moses here. 20:05 And we continue to read His response... 20:07 Verse 15- "Moreover, God said to Moses, "Thus you shall 20:11 say to the children of Israel, 20:15 the Lord God of your Fathers, the God of Abraham, 20:17 the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, 20:19 has sent me to you. 20:21 This is My name forever and 20:23 this is My memorial to all generations." 20:25 "Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, 20:29 "The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, 20:33 Isaac and of Jacob appeared to Me saying, 20:36 "I have surely visited you and seen what is done to you in 20:40 Egypt and I have said, "I will bring you up out of the 20:43 affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, 20:46 Hittites, Amorites, Para... I almost said "parasites," 20:48 Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites 20:52 to a land flowing with milk and honey." 20:54 "Then they will heed your voice and you shall come, 20:57 you and the elders of Israel to the king of Egypt and you shall 21:00 say to him, "The Lord God of the Hebrews has 21:03 met with us and now please let us go 3 days' journey 21:06 into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord 21:09 our God"... and it goes on there 21:11 and I'm just going to stop right there... 21:14 because Moses, after God gives answer here, 21:17 he's just.. God is saying, "Listen Moses - stop worrying, 21:21 I've got it all sorted... the whole plan is there!" 21:23 Moses comes up with objection #3... 21:26 All right, what's objection #3? 21:29 Chapter 4:1- Then Moses answered and said, 21:33 "But suppose they will not believe me or listen 21:36 to my voice; suppose they say, 21:38 "The Lord has not appeared to you." 21:42 I'm going to say a word on behalf of Moses 21:44 even though he is clearly in the wrong here. 21:46 But first of all, I understand why he finds it difficult 21:50 to really jump at the call of God right here... 21:52 Because, have you ever had to face a group of skeptics, 21:56 and tell them and try to convince them that God has 21:59 sent you, based upon a conversation you had 22:02 at a burning bush? 22:05 I can understand why he's fearing to go forward. 22:08 People just don't stand around talking to burning bushes, 22:11 not even today. 22:13 But now Moses' question is not only dangerous, it is sinful. 22:18 You see, in verse 18, God had just said to him 22:23 that the elders of Israel will listen to him, 22:27 but we find that Moses is still doubting God's word, 22:31 right after God said it. 22:32 And I'm not going to read to you the Divine response here, 22:35 but God gives Moses 3 signs to prove that they will believe. 22:41 You remember the first sign? 22:42 He said to take the rod that he had in his hand, 22:45 cast it down and it became a snake... serpent. Yes 22:50 And then what was God's instruction? 22:52 Pick it up by the tail. 22:54 Have you ever picked up a snake by the tail? 22:56 No, you don't pick them up by the tail. 22:58 I'm not a snake charmer, but IF I was, 23:00 I would definitely not go for the tail, 23:02 because the head would just around and bite you! 23:04 But God had said, "Take it by the tail," 23:07 because He wants Moses to trust Him - that's the first sign. 23:10 The second sign was take your hand, put it in your cloak 23:13 ... it came out leprous. 23:15 You remember this - it's in the movie - you remember? 23:18 It came out covered in leprosy. 23:21 And then he put it back in and it was restored again. 23:23 God had the power to do that. 23:25 And the third sign was one that he would do 23:27 when he got to Egypt... it was the water of the 23:30 Nile river turning to blood, and they worshipped the Nile. 23:33 So God was showing Moses and by extension he would show 23:36 the people that he had power. 23:38 He was more powerful than the gods of Egypt. 23:41 So this is God's response... 23:43 But Moses comes up with another objection! 23:46 Does he sound familiar? 23:48 Can you relate to Moses? 23:50 Some of us, God has been trying to call and every time He calls, 23:53 we keep coming up with excuses. 23:55 Verse 10- Moses said to the Lord, "O my Lord, 24:01 I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have 24:05 spoken to Your servant, but I am slow of speech, 24:09 and slow of tongue." 24:11 Moses said he has a speech problem. 24:14 But you know what, I find that hard to believe! 24:17 Ask Stephen, you have to ask Stephen about Moses, 24:20 because in Acts 7:22, if you want to go and check what I'm 24:25 going to read, but I'll read it to you.. go to my notes. 24:27 This is in Stephen's message. 24:29 This is the words of Stephen. 24:30 He said, "And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the 24:35 Egyptians and was mighty in words and deeds." 24:38 So he had the ability, but now he is doubting. 24:41 He is doing God a disservice by refusing not only to 24:44 believe that God could send him but that God could use him. 24:49 Moses need not have trusted in his own abilities 24:52 and now he was denying the abilities that God had 24:55 given to him and the gift that God had instructed to him. 24:59 He was essentially telling God, 25:00 "Lord, I can't do this because you didn't make me good enough." 25:04 "You didn't make me well enough." 25:06 We need to avoid these two extremes as well 25:08 when it comes to God's service. 25:10 There is one extreme which says, "Lord, Here I am, 25:13 I've got what it takes, use me!" 25:15 God says that's dangerous because God doesn't 25:17 call the equipped, He equips the called. Amen! 25:21 And the other extreme is saying, "Lord, I can't go, 25:24 I really can't go, I don't have what it takes." 25:26 And God says, "I am here, and I will equip you." 25:30 Those are the two extremes and that is exactly God's response. 25:33 In verse 11- "So the Lord said to him, "Who has made 25:37 man's mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, 25:40 the seeing or the blind? 25:41 Have not I, the Lord? 25:43 Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth 25:47 and teach you what you shall say." 25:49 The Divine response - "I will teach you what you should say." 25:53 God reminds him that He is his Creator! 25:55 He fashioned him suitably for the task and if He 25:58 commissions him, He will provide everything 26:01 that he needs for his work assignment! 26:04 Listen to this, Spirit of Prophecy... 26:07 "One worker may be a ready speaker, 26:10 another may be a ready writer, 26:12 another may have the gift of sincere, earnest, 26:15 fervent prayer and another the gift of singing. 26:18 Another may have the special power to explain the 26:21 word of God with clearness, and each gift is to become a 26:24 power for God... listen... because He works 26:28 with the laborer." 26:31 Oh, I hope you're enjoying 26:33 listening to the promises of God right here. 26:35 I was once ironing a load of washing... I don't like ironing. 26:40 But while I was ironing, I think perhaps I was trying to 26:42 iron this whole load because my cousin was visiting 26:45 from Samoa and I was trying to show off to my cousin. 26:49 And I was ironing this load of washing - 26:51 we were talking away and I didn't notice, 26:53 but while I was ironing this load of washing, 26:55 she went, got up and she switched the iron off. 26:58 And I was still ironing this load of washing, 27:01 and I happen to be a little bit OCD or CDO 27:04 if you put them in alphabetical order. 27:06 And so I was spending a long 27:08 time trying to iron these clothes. 27:10 It is impossible to iron a load of washing 27:13 without being connected to the power source. 27:16 Friends, God was not calling Moses to go and 27:20 deliver His people in his own strength! 27:23 God was calling Moses to go and move in His power. 27:28 BY His power - I got the theme wrong. 27:30 God is calling him to go and move BY His power! 27:33 And Moses kept trying to resist. 27:35 He says, "I haven't got a budget, 27:37 I haven't got a theology degree, I haven't got enough training, 27:39 I don't have the personality for it." 27:41 But God has met every one of his excuses with His promises, 27:45 and the promise of His presence, and His sufficiency. 27:48 Verse 13- Would you believe... I can't believe this, watch this 27:53 "But he said, "O my Lord, please send by the hand of 27:58 whomever else You may send." 28:01 Objection #5... "I don't want to go." 28:05 If Moses was a Pathfinder, then he has forgotten his pledge. 28:09 "Loving the Lord my God, I will daily seek His presence, 28:12 show friendship to others, keep the Pathfinder Law, 28:15 and go where He sends." 28:18 Is that the right law? 28:20 No, I think I got it wrong, but it's part of 28:22 the Pathfinder Pledge or Law, somewhere there... 28:24 he has forgotten his pledge. 28:27 And when he has offered all of his excuses, 28:30 and they've all been proved to be invalid, 28:32 suddenly his hidden motive surfaces. 28:35 Now, it's helpful to be trained. 28:39 It's helpful to go to training schools of evangelism, 28:42 but the real problem now is not a method of evangelism, 28:46 the real problem is Moses' motive. 28:48 Moses has a motivational problem... 28:51 He just doesn't want to go! 28:53 "Here am I... Please send somebody else." 28:57 His response is almost curt and rude 29:00 when you read it in the original Hebrew. 29:03 No reason is stated why God should send somebody else, 29:06 but, basically, Moses is putting the breaks on... 29:08 ..."It doesn't matter what you say, Lord, I will not go!" 29:12 And so, what had first appeared to be a doubt, 29:16 of his own ability, now reveals itself as a 29:20 distrust of God's ability to use him. 29:24 Now verses 14 and 15 read: "So the anger of the Lord 29:29 was kindled against Moses and He said, 29:31 "Is not Aaron, the Levite, your brother? 29:33 I know that he can speak well and, look, he is also coming 29:37 out to meet you and when he sees you, 29:39 he will be glad in his heart. 29:41 Now you shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth, 29:44 and I will be with your mouth and with his mouth, 29:47 and I will teach you what you shall do." 29:50 The Divine response to Moses' 5th objection... 29:55 "Moses, just trust Me." 29:57 Moses might not have known who God was, 30:00 but God knew who he was, and He already had 30:03 Aaron on his way coming to help him. 30:06 The One who calls you from the burning bush 30:08 is also the One who knows your strengths and your weaknesses. 30:12 He knows you. 30:13 2 Corinthians 12:9- Let's go there because this is 30:17 a beautiful text if you've never 30:27 seen it before... 2 Corinthians 12:9 30:30 I love this verse. 30:33 Here, the Bible says, "And He said to me, 30:36 My grace is sufficient for you, 30:41 for My strength is made perfect in weakness. 30:45 Therefore, most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities 30:49 that the power of Christ may rest upon me." 30:54 "Gospel Workers," page 323, says, "Moses was the 30:58 prospective ruler of Egypt, but God could not take him 31:02 from the king's court to do the work appointed him. 31:06 Only when he had been for 40 years a faithful shepherd, 31:10 was he sent to be the deliverer of his people." 31:14 The desert is a dry and barren place, 31:18 but there is nothing false in the desert. 31:20 There is no put-on, there's nothing fancy. 31:22 Everything is raw, real and dry. 31:26 But it is in a place like this that is unmistakably real 31:30 that tests Moses' character. 31:33 That changes him, that molds his character, this experience. 31:36 That God allows him to tread for 40 years before 31:40 He is ready to use him for this mission, 31:42 before He comes and meets him in a blaze of glory. 31:46 And this is a remarkable paradox when you stop 31:48 and you think about it... 31:49 Because in order for us to be sent by God, 31:53 we have to be empty first, of our own qualifications... 31:57 Because we have none, really worth 31:59 recommending to God. Amen? 32:02 The curriculum of the wilderness was designed by God 32:05 to lay bare human weakness. 32:07 When I was a little girl, my dad did something to me 32:10 which I have since seen many fathers do to their kids. 32:12 I was minding my own business one day... 32:14 He came along, saw me, picked me up, put me on this fence, 32:18 like a wall, like this here, and he said, "Jump!" 32:21 He stepped back and he said, "Jump to me!" 32:23 And I looked at him and I couldn't understand 32:25 why he would do this because I was quite happy on the floor, 32:28 but I looked at him and I saw... 32:30 My dad is not a little guy, and he's a strong man, 32:33 so I decided that I would trust him, 32:34 and I would jump to him. 32:36 And I did, I jumped into the 32:38 open arms of my dad and he caught me! 32:40 And the moment he caught me, he put me straight back up 32:43 on the wall again and he said, "Jump!, jump again!" 32:45 And he repeated this over and over and over and over 32:47 until soon, it became so natural for me to "jump" 32:50 to my dad, that whenever I saw him coming 32:53 in our house, I would climb things to jump to him, 32:56 and he had to be ready to catch me because if he 32:58 dropped me, there was the broken trust. 33:00 But the thing is... that's what the wilderness was all about. 33:04 That's was God was trying to get Moses to do. 33:07 He was trying to lay bare Moses' weakness 33:10 so that Moses would learn to trust Him. 33:14 There are some things that no university, 33:16 no seminary, no college, can ever teach you, 33:19 and the wilderness is a great teacher. 33:21 Some of us are in wildernesses right now. 33:24 They don't always look like the barren desert 33:27 that Moses was in, but they come in many 33:29 different shapes and sizes, different forms. 33:32 Some of them are bad relationships, family problems, 33:36 health crises...you name it, there are many 33:39 wildernesses that God can lead us through. 33:42 And that's the point, by the way, God leads us through them. 33:45 He always brings us out. 33:46 But the man or woman who God brings into the wilderness 33:49 is always entirely different when they come out. 33:52 The man or woman who goes into the wilderness, 33:53 they go in knowing their strength, 33:55 when they come out, they know their weakness, 33:58 and God's strength. 34:00 The burning bush was a turning point in the history of Israel. 34:05 And again, I'm going to read to you. 34:07 "Spirit of Prophecy," "Never could Moses describe 34:10 the impression made upon his mind by the sight 34:13 he then saw and by the sound of the voice that spoke to him, 34:16 but this impression was never effaced. 34:19 Heaven came very near to him 34:21 as with reverent awe, he listened. 34:24 What wondrous condescension for God to leave 34:27 the heavenly courts and manifest Himself to Moses 34:30 talking with him face-to-face 34:32 as a man speaketh unto his friend. 34:34 God came down and speaks. 34:37 You know what... As I think about this story, 34:39 I recognize that this story is almost a parable for us now. 34:44 It's a real story but we can take this story, 34:46 and apply it today because there is a second Exodus 34:49 coming at the end of time. 34:51 God has His people, this time they're not in 34:53 Egypt, they're in Babylon. 34:55 And God is calling His people to come out of Babylon. 34:58 Come out of her, my people. 35:00 And God is calling YOU, who are not in Babylon, 35:03 to help call His people out of Babylon to help bring them out. 35:07 God is looking at a generation of Moses here, 35:11 and He is saying, "GO because it's time to bring them out." 35:14 And what are we offering to 35:15 God on the brink of His soon return? 35:19 We offer God excuses... "Can't go, can't speak, 35:23 who am I, who are you?" 35:25 We give God all the same excuses and objections 35:28 that Moses gave as well. 35:30 But friends, we need to stop and listen. 35:35 Listen to what God says. 35:38 One man turned aside to see and because he turned aside 35:43 to see, the whole history of Israel was changed. 35:46 Because even if Moses had not stopped to check the bush out, 35:50 think of how history might have happened differently. 35:54 I think that this is really important for us to 35:57 stop and think about because I think that not 36:00 many of us are actually doing what Moses did. 36:03 Not many people will actually turn aside and see. 36:06 We have not learned to find God in the places where we 36:09 least expect Him - perhaps in our struggles, in our trials. 36:13 We think we can only find God on a Sabbath morning at church, 36:16 or in nice places, but God can be found anywhere. 36:20 And the other thing too... We're creatures of community. 36:23 We like to be together in a group, 36:25 but notice that God gets Moses alone. 36:28 It is when he is by himself that he is able to speak to him. 36:32 When every other voice is still, 36:34 that is when Moses hears God's call. 36:37 And I wonder as I think on this story, 36:39 given the time and history in which we live, 36:41 I wonder how many times God must be reaching out to us 36:45 during our day-to-day activities. 36:47 And instead of us paying attention to God's call, 36:50 we just keep on doing everything that we're already doing. 36:54 and we're missing God's call because I believe 36:57 that God is putting many more burning bushes 36:59 in our experience than we may recognize. 37:02 I was traveling on an airplane coming back from 37:07 and overseas country, and while I was traveling 37:09 on this airplane, I had two prayers... 37:11 "Lord"... Well more than that and I was praying I'd get to 37:14 my destination on time and safely... 37:17 But I said, "Lord, please seat me next to somebody 37:20 who won't wake me up too much during the flight, 37:22 and also somebody that I can witness to. 37:25 So this man comes... this young guy and he comes 37:28 and he sits next to me on my row on the plane. 37:31 And there was one seat between us and he was a very 37:33 polite, young man and we made light conversation 37:37 in the beginning of our trip, then the journey began, 37:40 and I fell asleep. 37:42 When I woke up, I looked over at him and he wasn't there. 37:45 He had gone and I felt, "That's strange." 37:47 I didn't remember him asking me to move 37:50 so that he could get up out of the seat. 37:51 So I just closed my eyes again. 37:53 A couple of minutes later, I looked over 37:55 and he was there again. 37:57 It was a turbulent flight and the first thought that came 37:59 to my mind was - "Maybe this man was an angel" 38:02 because he hadn't woken me up. 38:04 Well, that thought quickly disappeared when the 38:07 refreshments came around and he asked for the 38:08 ham sandwich - Hello, this is not an angel! 38:13 Anyway, we didn't talk until the end of our journey, 38:17 and at the end of the journey, just before the plane 38:19 comes in to land, we start talking. 38:21 And he just opened up to me and he was telling me about 38:25 his life story; his girlfriend had just left him; 38:29 he had, in a matter of 2 days, decided that he was going 38:33 to leave his job, which is a very good job 38:35 and he'd just up and leave countries and move to Australia. 38:37 And he said to me, "I just don't know if I'm 38:39 doing the right thing - I just don't know what I'm doing." 38:42 I said, "Well you know what, God is going to help you 38:44 and this is a new chapter, God will bring you through it." 38:48 And I was trying to put in, you know, little moments 38:50 where I could try and witness to him about Jesus, 38:53 but he didn't quite bite, but we kept talking and talking, 38:57 and finally I said to him... 38:59 He kept talking saying to me, "I just don't understand," 39:00 and I said, "Well God is going to help you." 39:02 "God is going to help you," and he said, "Yeah, you're right." 39:05 The plane starts coming in to land, and I had two prayers. 39:08 The first one that God would put me next to someone 39:11 who wouldn't wake me up - He had answered that prayer. 39:13 And the second one was that I would have opportunity 39:15 to give a "Steps to Christ" to this person to witness to them. 39:19 And, as the plan is coming in to land, I said to him, 39:22 "Would you like this little book that I have in my bag, 39:25 I wanted to give it away before I reached my 39:27 destination, would you take it?" 39:28 He said, "Yeah, I'd love to take it." 39:30 So I got to give this man a book, 39:33 "Steps to Christ" on my trip. 39:35 Now that's a really little thing, but I think that 39:38 was like a burning bush experience. 39:39 God put me in an opportunity and I talked to him, 39:42 and God gave me the ability, the opportunity to 39:45 witness to this man right here. 39:47 Another example of how this can look in your daily life... 39:52 I was mowing the lawn one day and I was really proud of 39:55 myself because when I finished one tank of fuel, 39:58 I went and got another tank of fuel to fill up 40:02 the lawn mower and it just so happened that while I was 40:05 doing that, the phone rang and it was 40:06 Pastor Youlden on the phone. 40:08 And I told him what I was doing, I was mowing the lawn 40:11 ... showing off, yes, a little bit. 40:13 I was telling him that I was changing the fuel 40:15 and he was very impressed - "Oh, that's so good!" 40:18 As soon as I hung up, I went to start the mower, 40:20 I realized I put the wrong fuel in the mower, 40:24 and this was a very serious thing because 40:26 the last lawn mower that we had, had died because 40:29 we put the wrong fuel in it and this was a brand new lawn mower. 40:34 So I thought, "What am I going to do - my parents 40:36 they are not going to be happy with this." 40:38 So I remembered when I was in the Islands in Samoa, 40:41 my cousin had done exactly the same thing, 40:44 and when we were in the Islands, she had taken a hose, 40:47 stuck it in the fuel tank and siphoned it out. 40:50 So I went, got a hose, and tried to siphon out the fuel. 40:54 My attempt was stopped when my phone rang again, 40:59 and this time, my phone call was not a good one, 41:02 and this phone call... You know those phone calls 41:05 that you get and your whole world changes? 41:08 The news that this person has on the other side, 41:10 that's what it was for me. 41:12 My whole world came crashing down and I just couldn't 41:16 believe what was going on in this phone call... 41:18 This person was sharing something with me 41:20 that never shared before and it was just very devastating. 41:23 I hung up on the phone call and now I had a wrecked mower, 41:29 and my life felt like it was a mess! 41:31 And I said to the Lord then, 41:33 I said, "Lord, if you could fix this mower, 41:34 then I know that You could fix this situation." 41:37 That was a Friday; the next day, I went to church, 41:39 and while I was there at the church, 41:42 I was wishing everybody a "Happy Sabbath," 41:43 but it was a very fake Happy Sabbath that Sabbath, 41:46 because in my heart, I was not happy, 41:47 or didn't want to be there. 41:49 And that night... I'm the youth leader in my 41:51 local church and, generally, they like to do things 41:54 on a Saturday night... that Sabbath I managed to 41:56 convince every single one of them that it was better 41:58 we all just go home! 41:59 So we all went home that night and I came home 42:02 that night and I was angry. 42:04 I got angry and I couldn't understand what was going on, 42:08 and I didn't like what was happening, 42:10 and I fell asleep rehearsing all the things that I wanted 42:14 to say to this person when I finally saw them 42:17 face-to-face, it was terrible. 42:19 I woke up at 2 o'clock in the morning, 42:21 and I woke up still rehearsing the same things 42:25 that I wanted to say to this person. 42:26 That's how I knew I was so worked up about the 42:28 situation and that's when God got my attention. 42:33 "Charissa, what are you doing?" 42:35 "You're angry at somebody who doesn't even know 42:37 that they have upset you; it's 2 o'clock in the morning, 42:40 what are you doing?" 42:41 And I came and I knelt beside my bed and I prayed 42:45 and it was one of those prayers where you're just alone, 42:47 just you and God and you just want to make sure that 42:50 your prayer reaches heaven. 42:51 Remember, the phone line to glory is always open. 42:55 But that night, when I prayed, I told the Lord my address. 42:58 I told Him how He could find me when He reached 43:00 the front door of my house... 43:02 I'm in the upstairs room, I'm on the left. 43:04 I gave God specific directions because I needed to hear 43:07 His voice, and I told Him about everything that was 43:10 upsetting me and do you know what God said to me? 43:12 "Just trust Me." 43:14 He often says that to me. 43:16 And do you know what, I went to sleep that night, 43:20 and I had this peace come over me. 43:22 The next day, I woke up, made a phone call to this person, 43:25 and would you believe... we talked it through, 43:27 and the whole situation God turned it for good at the end! 43:31 Not only that, remember I said, "Lord, if You 43:34 were to fix the mower, then I know that 43:36 You could fix anything." 43:38 Well, on the Thursday of the following week, 43:40 my mom said, "Charissa, we better take the mower 43:42 and we better get it replaced," so I went to go in the backyard 43:46 to get it so we could put it in the car, 43:48 and before I put it in the car, I thought, 43:50 "I'll just try it once more." 43:51 Prayed... Went to start it, and the whole thing 43:54 kicked over again! God is good! 43:56 He turned that whole experience around! 43:58 I'm running out of time and I had other things here to say. 44:01 But listen, let me close with these words here... 44:05 Moses' problem was that he failed to 44:08 believe that God could help him. 44:10 He failed to believe that God could use him, 44:12 and so we find in "Patriarchs and Prophets" that it says, 44:17 "Every failure on the part of the children of God 44:19 is due to their lack of faith." 44:22 Friends, God wants you to know something this afternoon, 44:24 that it's not about YOU! 44:27 It's all about HIM! Amen? 44:30 God wants us not to move in our own strength, 44:33 but to move by His power. 44:35 So friend, if God is calling you, step out in faith, 44:39 and know that you are not alone when you 44:42 follow His leading. Amen? 44:44 I wanted to put in something here because, listen... 44:48 "There is no limit to the usefulness of one, 44:51 who putting self aside, makes room for the indwelling 44:55 of the Holy Spirit. 44:56 Some of us are waiting for God to give us a sign 44:59 so that we know we can move forward in faith, 45:01 and trust Him, but God just wants us to trust Him. 45:04 Just step out in faith and know that I will be there. 45:07 When I was in high school, I got to school one morning, 45:10 and I was in year 8, and I was very shy, 45:14 and I was talking with my friends one morning, 45:16 my English teacher walked past and she said to me, 45:18 "Charissa, have you got your English speech ready for class?" 45:22 And my friends and I, we looked at each other... 45:23 We didn't know about any speech 45:25 that was due in class the next period. 45:27 She said, "Well, it's due next period, 45:29 you better go write something." 45:31 So we showed up at class and, of course, teachers know 45:34 when you haven't done your homework... 45:35 They put your names on the top 45:37 of the list when you haven't done your homework. 45:39 And my name went at the top of the list on this board. 45:42 So, I had to give this speech. 45:43 This particular speech was a monologue where you get up 45:46 and you pretend to be like you're somebody else. 45:49 And so I thought, "Well, I've been reading a book called, 45:52 "Rachel's Tears," has anybody read this book? 45:55 Nobody - okay... someone. 45:57 It's a book about a girl who died during the 45:59 Columbine High School shooting. 46:01 She was a Christian, they pointed the gun at her head. 46:03 They said, "Do you believe in God?" 46:04 She said, "Yes," and so they shot her. 46:06 And the whole book is about her story, 46:07 a wonderful person that she was. 46:09 I decided that I would be the brother of this girl in the book 46:13 So I'm 14 years old, in year 8, and I stood up in front of my 46:17 classmates and I'm going through this speech pretending I'm 46:20 this other person, and at the end of the speech, 46:22 I thought to myself, "Why don't I make an appeal like the 46:28 evangelists do in their crusades, after all, 46:30 I'm just pretending to be like somebody else." 46:33 And I have grown up always practicing 46:36 how to preach in front of a mirror. 46:37 When I was a little girl, my mom brought my sister and I 46:40 to church and we would practice in front of the mirror 46:43 and we played church together. 46:45 She would do the offering, sing, do the welcome, 46:48 and sing the hymn, do the special items, 46:51 then I got up preach and then we'd stand together sing 46:53 our closing hymn and then I'd stand at the door of our room, 46:56 shake her hand and thank her for coming! 46:59 And so I'm in my speech with my class, a live audience, 47:02 and this idea comes, why don't you make an appeal, 47:04 so I thought, "Great!" 47:05 So I get to the end of my speech and I said, 47:07 "And now if you would like to accept Jesus as your 47:09 personal Savior, would you mind raising your hands at me." 47:13 The whole class just sat there! 47:15 And it felt like a very long time because I've never seen 47:19 an appeal done when nobody responded, 47:21 so I didn't know what to do if nobody responds. 47:25 So I was just going to wait there until somebody moved. 47:28 Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity, 47:30 my friend in the front row, finally she put her hand up 47:34 and I said, "God bless you," friend, and sat down. 47:36 When I went home that night, I felt like Moses. 47:40 I felt like Moses felt in the wilderness. 47:42 I felt a failure - I never wanted to go back to that school 47:46 I said to my mom, "Can you please change my school, 47:48 I don't ever want to see them again." 47:50 "They're just going to think I'm weird." 47:52 Well the next day, I showed up at school, 47:54 and to make things worse, my friends weren't there. 47:57 But my teacher was walking across the campus, 47:59 and as she was walking across, she says, 48:01 "Good morning Charissa." "Good morning," I said. 48:03 She says, "Walk with me." 48:05 So I obeyed and walked with her across the school campus. 48:07 She says to me, "That was an amazing 48:09 speech that you have the other day." 48:11 I said, "Really?" She said, "How would you like 48:13 to give it in assembly today?" 48:14 I said, "You mean the whole thing?" 48:18 "You mean the hands up thing and everything?" 48:19 She said, "Yes, I've been talking with the teachers. 48:22 We want the whole thing in assembly. 48:24 You got 99 out of 100." 48:25 I said, "Really? What did I lose the mark on? 48:27 She said, "You went too long." 48:29 That's... I'm going too long now too. 48:31 "That's because nobody put their hands up." 48:34 Well friends, I prayed very hard that morning, 48:37 and when the opportunity came for me to deliver that 48:40 same speech to my whole school, 48:42 I changed the appeal just a little bit because I wanted 48:45 more hands and when I made the appeal, 48:47 nearly every hand in the school went up. 48:49 And I remember coming off the platform that day 48:52 thinking, "I felt shaken because God had just used me." 48:56 And if God can use me, if God can use Moses, 49:00 God can use you too. Amen? 49:03 All we need to do is trust Him. 49:05 So, I've been talking for probably too long right now, 49:08 but I'm going to finish right here 49:10 and I just want to ask you... 49:12 We've had a wonderful time at this witness conference. 49:14 I've been really blessed as I have sat here and 49:18 been listening to God's words and I've felt impressed. 49:21 There have been convictions that have come to my heart, 49:24 and as I come to this message, and as I think on this story, 49:27 I believe that God is calling people in this room 49:30 to a specific task, to a specific mission, 49:34 to a specific place of service. 49:39 And if that is you, if you sense that God is 49:41 calling you, maybe it's not to deliver 49:43 the whole nation of Israel out of Egypt, 49:46 but God has people that He can use you to speak to. 49:49 Use you to witness to. 49:51 Maybe God has been placing their names on your mind, 49:54 then I just want to encourage you. 49:55 Do not give God objections. 49:58 Take Him at His word and trust Him, 50:00 because He has everything that you need. Amen? 50:04 So, if that is you, do you sense that God is calling you? 50:08 Hands - do you sense it? Amen! 50:11 Then friends, if God is calling you, let nothing stop you! 50:14 Let nothing and no one come between you 50:17 and responding to the call of God. 50:19 Let's bow as we close... 50:21 Father in Heaven, We thank you for the story 50:24 of Moses, who turned aside to see, and when he did 50:28 he had this encounter with you. 50:30 We live in this world where there are so many things 50:32 that are competing for our time and attention. 50:35 So much so that I'm sure, on many occasions, 50:37 we are missing the call of God in our lives. 50:40 We are missing the opportunities that You are placing 50:42 in front of us because we're too busy, we're too distracted. 50:45 But right now, this afternoon, we just want to say, 50:48 "Lord, here we are, send us." 50:51 We believe that Your word is true. That You are faithful 50:54 and You will do as You have promised. 50:56 I pray that you will use us in Your service, 50:58 and there is a call for everybody here. 51:00 I pray that You will speak very clearly to them, 51:03 and make known to them Your will, 51:05 because You're coming soon, and we long to be ready 51:08 to meet You when You come and with everybody 51:10 around us that we love, we want to be ready 51:12 to meet You as unbroken families 51:14 with our friends and loved ones. 51:15 And we ask this in Jesus name... Amen |
Revised 2015-05-13