Exodus Going With God 4: Going When God Calls
Exodus 3:1-15
We’re going to be looking at Exodus Chapter 3 and Moses’ call to serve the Lord at the burning bush.So let me tell you a story about the Lord’s calling. I’m going to use with an old preacher joke.
So, in this story a country boy, named Bubba, was working in
the hot sun of a Texas cornfield, hoeing weeds by hand. He had been working all
morning and now the sun was fully up, and he was getting tired and drenched in
sweat. Finally, after another long row was finished the farm boy paused leaned
on his long-handled hoe, took off his hat and then glanced up toward heaven and
talked to the Lord.
“Oh Lord, this sun is so hot, these weeds are so tall and these rows are so
long…I think I hear you calling me to be a preacher.”
So Bubba goes to his pastor to tell him the good news. Now the pastor has known Bubba since he was a little boy and knows that Bubba hated working in the hot sun and was a little lazy. When he told the preacher he was called to the ministry. The old Pastor asked, Bubba, how can you be sure you are called to the ministry.” The boy thought for a minute and he said, Well, brother. Now you mention it I remember after I spoke to the Lord. I looked up in the sky and there was two clouds and as I looked at them, I was pretty sure they formed the letters PC. I knew then that those letters meant I was to Preach Christ.”
The pastor nodded his head and said, “Well now. There may be
a slight misunderstanding here. Those letters didn’t mean Preach Christ. No, when
the Lord wrote PC in the clouds, He was actually telling you to Plant Corn.”
If you read about the lives of the people of God, you’ll find that all were called to serve the Lord. Some were called as prophets, or kings or soldiers. Some not to lead but to live as people of God, doing what His law and commandments told them to do. It comes down to this, If you are a child of God, then you are also, without question a servant of God. The two really can’t be separated. The calling of God is first for salvation, but it always includes discipleship and service.
But what does answering that call mean in my own life? What will it require of me? I believe the call of Moses at the burning bush gives us some understanding for our own calling today as the saints of God in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Fire of Separation - Exodus 3:1-4
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 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. And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. 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.
Moses in Exodus 3 is now 80 years old, he has been a shepherd in the desert for 40 years. For his first 40 years he was a prince of Egypt, a son of Pharoah’s daughter, but after killing a man who was beating a fellow Hebrew, he fled and now has settled into completely different life as a shepherd in the wilderness of Midian.
80 years old, to Moses and to us it would seem almost impossible to be used of God now. He is not a young man, he has no political standing, and probably even the Hebrews have forgotten all about him, if they ever really knew him. Now he is only lowly shepherd, not a noble prince. He leads his father-in-law’s sheep instead of God’s people.
Yet one day in all those long, long days of the past 40 years, he is shepherding the flocks on the backside of the desert, around Mt. Horeb, aka Mt Sinai, the mountain that will forever after the Exodus be known as the “mountain of God.” No one is sure which mountain is the actual Mountain of God, though there are many traditional sites, even one with a Catholic Monastery built on it. (I’m sure they nailed it.) The range of mountains in Midian is harsh, forbidding and imposing. The highest peak rising to 8000 feet. Now Moses is there, he has probably been there before in his 40 years of leading sheep. But on this day, after 40 years of hiding and 40 years of accepting his new life, on this day he sees a bush burning with a bright fire, burning but not being consuming.
There are many thoughts as to what this fire might represent. Some say it is a symbol of Israel in the fire of persecution, burning but not destroyed. Others that it represents Moses. He is the dry bush but God’s fire will empower him. I think the fire is the Glory of God. The fiery cloud that represents the presence of God, the Shekinah Glory of God. Shekinah is not a word found in the Bible but it was used by the ancient scholars of the Word. It means “that which dwells.” God’s presence or glory resided within the fiery cloud.
If we look carefully in the scriptures to the times that God called and separated His servants from the world, it is almost always accompanied by this supernatural cloud of fire.
Abraham and the covenant: Genesis 15:17 17 And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp
Moses here at the burning bush. Exodus 3
The Hebrew children during the Exodus journey: Psalms 78:14 In the daytime also he led them with a cloud, and all the night with a light of fire.
The dedication of the Tabernacle Exodus 40:38 For the cloud of the Lord was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was on it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys.
The dedication of the Temple built by Solomon. 1 Ki 8:10–11And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the Lord, So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for
The empowering of the church on the Day of Pentecost: Acts 2:2-4 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost…
Moses was called to the fire and away from the way he was on. Exodus 3:3 And Moses said, “I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.”
For Moses, the burning bush will be a fire of calling, a fire of separation. Removing him from his former life, his family, his friends and his livelihood of the past 4 decades. Suddenly at 80 years old, everything will change and there will be no going back.
Now I don’t have to tell you that your call and my call to the Lord, whether it be the call of salvation or the call to special service, won’t take place at a burning bush. If you feel that has happened please come talk to me, and we’ll probably figure out the Lord was calling you to be a Barbeque Master. And I will be happy to put your calling to the test when you invite me over for ribs, or steak, or pork chops, or even chicken. No, we won’t see the fire of God, but we are all still called of God.
And just like the Moses, the call of God always calls us away from ourselves, our interests and our world. It rarely happens when we expect it for God’s timing is never our timing. He does not work in our life when it is convenient for us.
Nor can the call of God cannot be ignored, like the burning bush is it a bright burning and demands our attention. Jeremiah 20:9 Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay. (I could not ignore God’s calling)
The call of God moves us away from our world, our plans, our future and into God’s will. 1 Corinthians 1:27-28 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence.
The call of God is a fire that consumes our past and sets us on a new future path. As it did in Moses, it also did when Paul was on the Damascus road, Acts 9:3-6 As he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: 4 And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? 5 And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest… 6 And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?
After sanctification, it is difficult to state what your aim in life is because God has taken you up into his purposes. -Oswald Chambers (1874-1917)
Are we prepared for what sanctification will do? It will cost an intense narrowing of all our interests on earth and an immense broadening of our interest in God. - Oswald Chambers (1874-1917)
Die before you die. There is no chance after. - C. S. Lewis (1898-1963)
Transition: Look now at verses 5-10 and a see the fire of
God’s calling as a calling not just of separation but also of service.
Fire of Service - Exodus 3:5-10
And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. Moreover, he said, I am the God of thy 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 upon God. And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites. Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them. Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.
God tells Moses to remove his shoe and stand on Holy Ground. He tells Moses who he is and what He intends for Moses to do. He give Moses a calling and in that calling there is a purpose. Moses was to return and do what he may have thought he was supposed to do 40 years ago, deliver the people from oppression and bondage.
God’s plan hadn’t changed but Moses’ preparation had changed dramatically. Moses wasn’t fully God’s man 40 years ago and it had taken 40 years of humbling in the wilderness of Midian to make him so.
Acts 7:22- 25 And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was mighty in words and in deeds. And when he was full forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren the children of Israel. And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended him, and avenged him that was oppressed, and smote the Egyptian: For he supposed his brethren would have understood how that God by his hand would deliver them: but they understood not.
He thought God was ready to use him 40 years ago after he had been prepared in Pharaoh’s palace, but it was 40 more years in wastes of the wilderness before God had fully prepared him.
When the God and the desert was finished with Moses, then he was ready. No, not in his own eyes but in the eyes of God. Now he could fulfill the first purpose of God’s calling, to deliver those bound in the chains of slavery.
We, as New Testament servants of God, are also called to fulfill God’s purpose to Moses, we also are to deliver those bound, not in the chains of Egyptian bondage but in the chains the bondage of sin. Moses was sent and empowered by the Lord’s Voice at the burning bush but we have been sent and empowered by the Lord’s voice in Great Commission.
Matthew 28:18-20 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
We will not be effective in this, the greatest calling every given to man, unless we also are prepared by God to be His person and not our own. Letting God use us His way and in His time took Moses 40 years, how long will it take us? And if God does not call us to the level of leadership of a Moses will we still be faithful and humble in our service to Him? Moses was wrong in setting his own timetable and agenda, that had to be up to God’s timing. We must allow God to work in and through us in the timing, the preparation and the opportunities of service.
A pastor was leading a revival in another church. While there, a young boy took a special interest in the preacher, sitting beside him every evening. If the pastor sat on the platform, that's where the little boy sat; if on a pew, the little boy sat with him on the pew. The little boy was not a bother, that he just wanted to sit with the preacher. He found out that the boy’s parents didn’t attend church and he came on the church van.
"One evening I was sitting on the first pew," wrote Cashman. "He came and snuggled up real close. He looked up and asked me, 'Why are you a preacher?' "I replied to him, 'Because that is what God told me He wanted me to be.' He paused a moment and then stated, 'God told me just to be a kid.' "
What ever it is and whenever it is, be willing to be and serve as the Lord calls.
There is one more aspect of the fire that we
should consider today.
Fire of Strength - Exodus 3:11-15
11 And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt? 12 And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.
The fire of God’s calling will separate Moses, and it will send Moses but there is one last purpose that the fire of God will accomplish. God must overcome the weakness of Moses in order that he may glorify God.
Moses tells God he can’t go, he can’t speak, he’s too old, he’s too weak. He even asks God for his name, something that the God of Israel has never given before, but this time God speaks and in the name of Jehovah is all the power that Moses will need. Exodus 3:13-14 And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? 14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.
It was no longer a question of the weakness of Moses, but the power of Jehovah God. The power of the name of God would not fail.
God in giving His personal name, also gives Moses the final purpose of his calling and I believe that same purpose is also still true today for us today. In telling Moses that he is not just the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob but “Jehovah,” the great I AM, God is telling Moses that he would share this name with the Children of Israel and that it would be a memorial, a remembrance to glorify God.
Exodus 3:15 And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.
This was the first time that the personal name of God was revealed. God’s purpose in revealing His name was to bring His people to know Him, to remember and honor Him for all generations. Like a memorial, erected to stand for eternity, the name of God would bring others to glorify God just as the burning bush had brought Moses to the glory of God.
The greatest purpose of our own calling is to bring a remembrance, a memorial with our lives showing who God is. It is to bring honor and glory to God through our own lives in His service. As Moses in his weakness could only show the strength of God, we in our weakness will also show the greatness of God.
This is God’s purpose according to Ephesians 1:11-14 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
And just as the revelation of God’s name would bring glory to God in the Old Testament, the revelation of God’s Son, Jesus Christ, bring glory in the New Testament.
Jesus said, in “John 12:32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.”
Our great purpose, our highest calling, is to show the world Jesus Christ, crucified, buried but raised to glory. He is the payment for their sin debt. He is the gift of God for our forgiveness. And in telling the world who Jesus Christ is, we fulfill the purpose of calling, to bring glory to the Lord by sharing the grace of God through the Gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.
David Livingstone, the great explorer was first a great missionary and when asked why gave up so much to serve in the darkness of Africa. He said, …
“I place no value on anything I have or may possess, except in relation to the kingdom of God. If anything will advance the interests of the kingdom, it shall be given away or kept, only as by giving or keeping it I shall most promote the glory of Him to whom I owe all my hopes in time or eternity.” - David Livingstone
How did Paul, who was struck down by the glory of God, say it? Philippians 3:13-14 13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Conclusion
This morning, have you experienced the fire of God’s calling?
It is a fire that will burn away your past and redirect your future. It is a fire that calls you to serve Him. It is a fire that burns away the dross of your weakness and replaces it with the gold of God’s power.
If you have not answered God’s call to salvation then look around you for the fire of the Gospel is burning brightly. If you are saved, then know that God’s call to salvation is always accompanied by His call to service. You cannot experience the first and not realize the second must also be true. Answer His call and God will provide all that is needed to fulfill the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
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