The Story of God: Your Burning Bush Moment

Do you have a burning bush moment?  You know the kind of moment when God breaks into the ordinary and changes the trajectory of your life, or even changes your life. I can think of a few specific burning bush moments in my life.  The first came when I met God at my kitchen table 38 years ago and I realized that God was so good that I could truly trust in Him.  That’s the night I became a Christ follower.  The second burning bush moment came in the Fall of ’95.  At that time I was discipling a group of 5 High School boys. I would pick them up every Tuesday after school, we would drive to 7/11 to pick up a Slurpee and then head to my office where we were going through a book about being a godly man.  On this particular day the chapter was on giving. So I asked if they got allowances. Two guys got $10 a month, the twin brothers in the group each got $75 a month and one guy got nothing.  Then I asked them:  Have your dad’s taught you how to give to God?  “No, no, no, no and no.”  Now all of these guys had been with us on our mission trip that summer, and one of the prerequisites of going on that trip was to have a list of three or four friends you wanted to share the gospel with.  These guys had done that.  In fact, these guys were great at bringing their friends to youth group. And they’d been pretty active in sharing their faith after we’d come back form our trip.  But now they had settled back into the “normal routine” and had kind of lost their fire.

So I asked them a follow-up question: “Have you ever seen your father share his faith with anyone?”  “No, no, no, no and no.”  Then it hit me.  It was as if God literally spoke to me at that very moment and said, “You’re done with Youth Ministry.”  Now, that didn’t mean I wanted to quit.  It was just at that very moment, God opened my eyes to see that I needed to be working with their dads.  For if their dads were actively making disciples their sons would see and do the same. So that day I knew God was calling me to work with adults.  And after that it wasn’t too long before God led to be a church planter in Canada.

So let me ask you:  Have you ever had a “burning bush moment?”  Have you ever had a moment where God met you in the ordinary and changed the trajectory of your life?  Or a moment where God met you and changed you?  If you have, I believe you are familiar with what I’m talking about.  But if you haven’t, then what we’re going to look at today in God’s Word might prepare you for Your Burning Bush Moment.  So if you brought your Bible with you today, let me encourage you to open it to Exodus, the second book of the Bible.  For it is here in Exodus 3:1-0where we will see from Moses’ burning bush moment three realities of how God still meets people today.  So if you’ve found Exodus 3, lets look at the first one together. And it is this:

Your Burning Bush Moment Can Happen Anywhere or Anytime Now Moses was tendingthe flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.  There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush.  Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up.   So Moses thought, “I must turn aside and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”  Exodus 3:1-3 Your burning bush moment can happen anywhere or anytime.  Look at Moses’ life.  At the time of his burning bush moment, he has been a shepherd in Midian for forty years. It’s been a lifetime since Moses fled Pharaoh. Since then, he’s taken on a new identity, married into a new family, and embraced a new lifestyle far from the pleasures and power of Pharaoh’s court.  Now, he’s simply doing what he’s been doing for forty years – leading his flock. He’s leading them to water, to pasture, to shelter.  The same thing he has done day in and day out for a career.  And like any good shepherd he is alert to his surroundings.  He’s always on the look out for predators or danger along the way.  And on this day, he sees a strange sight a “bush was on fire that did not burn up.”Moses is intrigued. He could have passed by and gone about his business.  But you can hear his thinking right here.  He thought, “I must turn aside and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”

Now, the text also says that it was the angel of the Lord who appeared to him in the flames of fire. But at first glance, Moses did not know who or what he was in that bush.  All he saw was a bush that did not burn up.  So he stopped going wherever he was going, and turned aside to see this strange sight. He wasn’t so busy with his responsibilities of the day that he couldn’t take a minute.  His agenda wasn’t so full that it would keep him from seeking the cause of this strange fire.  No, he stopped.  He was curious.  And he was willing to turn aside to investigate this strange fire.

I love this about Moses.  Here he is, now 80 years old, alone in the desert just minding his own business, but he is still alert, still curious and still on his game.  At this point, he doesn’t know he’s about to encounter God, but he turns aside.  Can you imagine how his story might have ended if he hadn’t?  But the good news for us is that he did.

That’s the first thing God’s Word challenges us with this morning: this action of turning aside, of investigating.  I wonder how many of us miss opportunities to meet with God because we fill our lives with so many things that we never have time to turn aside?  Now, in one sense, everyone of you that is here today fit into this story.  And the reason you do, is that you are here.  You’ve turned aside from all the other activities of life to be here today. Some of you have done this out of habit. Others because you’re like Moses: You’re still curious, still wanting to learn, still investigating the wonders of life.  But I wonder, how often do we miss opportunities for God to meet us in the everyday stuff of life, simply because we’re no longer curious, or we think we’ve got it all figured out, or we we’ve stopped paying attention.

When Moses stopped, he had no idea that God was about to meet him in a powerful way. When Moses stopped he had no idea God was about to call him to part of His redemption story.  When Moses stopped he didn’t know any of this.  But he was curious.  He was willing to turn aside.  Can that be said of you?  Are you still curious, are you still willing investigate the wonders of life?  Are you willing to stop and consider the events in your life? For if you are, then maybe God still has a burning bush encounter waiting for you.  Don’t think for a moment that God doesn’t want to meet with you. You may think you’ve put in your time. You may think that you’re insignificant. You may even think you are too old or not worthy.  But look at Moses.  He failed God 40 years previous.  He’s 80 years old out in the middle of a desert.  But he was willing to turn aside and look.  And when he did, that’s when everything changed.

Which leads us to our second burning bush reality: Your Burning Bush Moment May Awaken You to God’s Call on Your Life  Look at verse 4, When the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!”                                                                                                              And Moses said, “Here I am.”  Exodus 3:4

Notice that when the Lord sees Moses take the initiative to turn aside to look, it was at this precise moment that God speaks to Moses.  He calls Moses by name.  He calls his name twice. He knew his name.  He knew his name was not a Hebrew name, but an Egyptian name.  That means God knew his past. God knew that he had been raised in Pharaoh’s courts. God knew he was a murderer, a rejected deliverer, and a fugitive.  But God doesn’t bring any of that up.  He simply calls him by name.

And so Moses answers, “Here I am.” “It’s me.”  He responds to the voice coming from the burning bush.  He doesn’t even know who is speaking to him.   He’s just there.  He’s simply available.  And he is listening.   That’s a second thing we can learn from Moses today.  He wasn’t just willing to turn aside.  He was available to God’s call.  When Moses said, “Here I am” you can hear his humility.  After 40 years of obscurity in the desert, there is no pretense or power in his reply.  He is simply present and available to listen to this voice. And I would say this, That’s all God wants to hear from any of us.  For when we are present and available; when He has our undivided attention, that’s when He can truly reveal Himself to us.  And that’s just what he does with Moses…

“Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid.  Exodus 3:5-6

Now for the first time, Moses begins to grasp who is speaking to him.  This angel of the Lord, this fire that never ceases to burn up, is the Holy God of Israel.  Just look at how God reveals Himself.  God calls to Moses from the bush: “Moses, Moses!”  Do not come any closer!”  Moses has to take off his sandals. It is not clear why, except that it was a sign of “holy ground”, because it was ground where God was.  In fact, the word ‘holy’ means “different” or “distinctive.”  And when we apply that to who God is, we begin to understand that God is not like us.  He is greater than us.  He is purer than us.  He is wiser than us.  He is holy, glorious and majestic…  So God tells Moses to remove his shoes, then He reveals himself AS GOD….  Up until now Moses, has encountered a talking bush, but now he is told, “I am the God of Abraham”  “I am God”.  And Moses’ immediate instinct is to hide his face, “because he was afraid to look at God.”

What I love about Moses’ encounter with God is this: God meets us on His terms not on Our Terms.   He initiates the relationship.  He comes to us as He is, not as what we think He is, or should be.  Today people like to define God for themselves. Think about people who say, “I’m not religious, but I am spiritual” or “I think God is like…”  What they are saying is, “I don’t want anyone to tell me what to think about God.  I’ll decide for myself what God is like.  I’ll imagine Him anyway I choose.”

In other words, we want God to fit into our safe definition of God.  But He is anything but safe.  God is holy.  He is PURE perfection.  And impurity cannot exist in His presence; it burns up, it’s consumed.  So it is no wonder God tells Moses to take off his shoes. His shoes represent his path in life. His path in life has been one of pride, of anger, of murder, of sin.  His path has been unholy.  He can’t stand on his own two feet in the presence of a holy God.  So God says, “Do not come any closer!”  You see, what at first sounds negative and standoffish of God, is actually a loving command. For If Moses was to come any closer in his unholy condition, he would have been consumed in the Holy Fire of God!  So God demands that we meet Him on His Terms.  He is Holy.

But God is also gracious. For next He says, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.”  Each of these men had a relationship with God because God called them into a covenant relationship with Him.  His relationship with each one was based on His covenant of grace.  A covenant initiated by God whereby He God promised to always be for them.  God promised to always love them, always protect them and always bless them.  Where we see God’s grace is that God initiated His covenant with each man when they were far from deserving.  Abraham was a man characterized by his fears.  Isaac was a man who was led by his flesh, and Jacob was a deceiver.  Each of them did foolish things, sinful things, and didn’t always believe.  But God loved them in spite of their failures and never failed them.  And He gave them more than they deserved, for He is the God of grace.

This is how God introduces Himself to Moses. He is unapproachable in His holiness, but He extends His grace to sinners like Moses.  And so how does Moses respond?  At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid. Moses heard the grace of God, but he was overwhelmed by God’s holy presence. In the presence of God he realizes his sinfulness, his smallness, and his nothingness… This is the same fear of God that caused Peter to fall to his knees in front of Jesus after he realized his sinfulness and said, “Go away from me Lord; I am a sinful man.”(Luke 5:8)  This is the same fear that overcame Jesus’ disciples after he calmed the raging sea and they asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and waves obey him.”(Mark 4:41) This fear is a reverent fear, a humbling fear, a life-changing fear in the presence of our Holy God.  And Moses hid his face, because he was afraid.

And that’s not such a bad thing we see here. Because Moses needed to know WHO was calling Him. He is a big, powerful, awe-inspiring God – an all-consuming fire. A HOLY GOD.  This was Moses burning bush moment.  This was the moment God changed Moses.  For his God WAS NOT SAFE!  For a safe God asks nothing of us.  A safe God never drives us to our knees.  A safe God never sets us on our feet in fierce determination.  A safe God never asks us to embarrass ourselves, risk ourselves and give ourselves to something greater than ourselves.   Moses hid his face, because after 40 years of living in obscurity, God was awakening him to WHO He is:  A Holy God, but gracious God who was now ready to awaken Moses to his part in God’s story.

And what was true of Moses can be true for you: Your Burning Bush Moment May Awaken You to Your Place In God’s Story  Look at what happens next:  The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. And now the cry of theIsraelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.  Exodus 3:7-10

Did you hear it? God sees.  God hears.  God cares. And now God acts! He has COME DOWN to RESCUE His people and BRING THEM OUT of Egypt INTO a good and spacious land – the Land of Promise. And HOW God is going to do this… is by SENDING Moses to Pharaoh.  All of a sudden everything in Moses’ life makes sense.  Everything he’s experienced from birth has prepared him for this moment: His unique rescue by Pharaoh’s daughter as an infant; his being nursed by his own mother during his formative years; his being raised in Pharaoh’s courts with a world class education; his murderous rage that burnt his bridges with the house of Pharaoh; his flight to the wilderness of Midian; his acceptance into the family of Reuel, the priest of Midian; and his leading his flock through the wilderness for forty years – all of it; all of his highs and lows; all of it had been in preparation for this one moment: his burning bush moment – where God comes to down to deliver His people.  At this very moment, God redeems Moses and sends him to redeem His people.

And God still works this way today: God still comes down to awaken those He calls to join Him in bringing people out of bondage and into a new life with Christ. God still meets people in their sin, redeems them by faith in Jesus and invites them to join Him  in calling people out of darkness to bring them into the Promised Land – the Kingdom of the Son He loves.  God still calls broken people, sin-scared people, and forgotten people, just like Moses, to join Him in His story.

Your burning bush moment can happen anywhere or any time

Your burning bush moment can awaken you to God’s call on your life

Your burning bush moment can help you find your place in God’s story

Your burning bush moment may be right here right now.  For God’s Word tells us that wherever two or three are gathered together in His name, He is here in our midst.

God is here in this place today.  He is still the Holy God of all consuming fire.  And He is the God of all-including grace.  For God has SEEN your plight:  Your sin separates you from Him.  Your sin keeps you in bondage from the life God wants for you. And God has HEARD your cries.  He knows your brokenness, your emptiness, your anxieties and your fears. He hears you!  And God CARES. He loves you. And He has proven His love for youby coming down to us in the person of Jesus Christ, His Son… Who by dying on the cross for your sins, satisfied God’s HOLY JUSTICE and rescued your from judgment.  And Who by shedding His own innocent blood made it possible for you to know HIS GREAT GRACE and be given a new life with Him forever.

This may be your burning bush moment.  You are not here today by accident. You have turned aside from the course of your day to day life, and God is speaking to you through His Word.  God still speaks today by His Holy Spirit through His Word.

Do you hear His voice? Has His Word awakened your heart to His presence with us?

God has come down to redeem you and invite you into His story.  God sends redeemed people to go and redeem people. Do you sense His Spirit calling to believe in Jesus?

If that’s you, all you have to do is put your faith in Jesus. For God’s Word says, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ. Romans 10:17  If you have heard the message of Jesus today, then come to Jesus.  Put your trust in Jesus.  For Jesus said it himself, “I am the way, the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.”   Jon 14:6 You have turned aside to hear his voice today.  Now won’t you turn to him in faith?