Sermon Central
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God Still Speaks Today
Contributed by Ray Ellis on Jun 7, 2011 (message contributor)
Summary: God spoke to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Even in Genesis. God spoke to Abraham and other patriarchs in the Old Testament. God spoke to prophets, kings and judges. God spoke to the early Church. Jesus spoke to his disciples and the risen Jesus spok
God Still Speaks Today
(Have you heard him speak lately?)
Exodus 3 we find Moses in the desert of Median. Moses had lived in elegance and was now herding sheep in the desert. He had gone form the sublime to the simple, son of Pharaoh to sheepherder. It was in the desert that God gave a special calling to Moses. Isn't it usually during the desert times of our life that we hear God's call?
According to Acts 7:23, Moses was 40 years old when he killed the Egyptian fighting with a Israelite slave, and 40 years old when God spoke to him from the burning bush.
In the case of Moses it was while in the desolate desert that God called him out of a burning bush. Moses saw a burning bush. Bushes sometimes have spontaneous combustion in the desert, but this burning bush was unique. This bush didn't burn it. This bush was like an ever-lit candle on a birthday cake. You blow it out and it comes back after each blow. This bush was like wood fueled by butane.
How did Moses react to the burning bush. Did he say, “Behold! Look a bush burneth!, or, “verily a bush burneth?” He probably aid, “Wow, what a strange burning bush! I'm going to check that effervescent bush out.”
Moses went over to investigate and God called to Moses from within the burning bush. “Moses,” “Moses.” Moses answered, “Here I am.” “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.” When Moses heard this he hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.
From this passage we can glean several teaching of the Lord.
I. Whenever God calls you He has a Purpose
Exodus 3:7-8 “God said, I have seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have herd 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.”
God is always involved with His creation.
“I have seen.”
“I have heard”
“I am concerned”
“I am come down.”
“I will send you.”
Moses, may have thought, “Great, now those Egyptians will get what's coming to them. Praise Jehovah, God is going to deliver His people out of bondage.”
But then the purpose of God's call became clear. “Moses I am sending you to Pharaoh to being my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”
What was Moses' response? “No problem, I'm your man. I'm ready to go.” No Moses said, “Hold on, You said You were going to free the children of Israel.” “Why are you saying to me, you go?”
God said, “Moses I am sending you.” “I have come down, Moses I am sending you.”
God spoke and Moses listened. Has God spoken to you lately?
God has a mission and calling for all of us.
God said to Moses, “You are the answer.” “You can do it. I will go with you, now get going. Then Moses said, “I don't know what to say. I'm not up to going, and even if I go my speech is inadequate.”
Has God called you and your first thought was, “I'm not adequate for the calling. I'm not worthy. Call someone else.”
I like what the President of Service Master, an outstanding Company, once said, “If anything is worth doing, it's worth doing poorly the first time.” In other words, “get going, if you wait until you are perfect and speak perfectly before you go, you'll miss God's blessing.”
Ken Davis, author of “I Don't Remember Dropping the Skunk,” relates a story that happened while he was directing a Youth for Christ group. He challenged the teens to witness to their friends. He explained that teens are the greatest evangelists on earth. One teenage girl that was active in YFC came to talk to Ken. Ken described her as a space cadet. She was spacey. She was whining and crying, “I don't know what to say.” Ken told her to pray and ask God to lay one person on her heart. She said, “Okay.” She went home and God lad a friend on her heart.
She brought her friend to the next YFC meeting. She has a tract in her pocket that explained the plan of salvation. She was praying for the right time to pull out the tract and witness at any moment. On the way home after the meeting she asked her friend what she thought of the meeting. The girl replied, “It was okay except for the Jesus part.” “What didn't you like?” Her friend explained that she lived a terrible life and because her life was so bad, Jesus wouldn't love her or forgive her.
