Moses and the Burning Bush
Exodus 3:1-6
Dr. Jeffery C. Russell
Intro:
The great violinist, Paganini, willed his violin to his home city of Genoa. His bequest carried one condition: the violin was never to be played and would simply be put on display. But as time has proven, a finely crafted instrument as the violin of Paganini needs to be used regularly if its beauty and value are retained. Paganini's marvelous violin has become nothing more than a decaying form. It has wasted away as a museum piece.
I do not want lived a wasted life that is useless to God. I want to be used of God.
I want us to notice in our text a ''bush'' that God used. Here is a bush that God used to get the attention of Moses. I want us to notice in this ''bush'' that God used some lessons about the ''believer'' God uses.
Notice 3:2-3 Moses saw something that immediately attracted Moses’ attention...The sight of a burning bush in the desert would not get a lot of attention from Moses ...But a burning bush that wasn't burning up got his attention...It aroused in his heart a curiosity and he made inquiry into why it was not consumed. A person that is being used of God and a place that is being blessed of God ought to arouse in our hearts a holy curiosity and an inquiry into why.
WHY?, Let's look at God's use of a bush and learn some lessons concerning God's use of a believer.
I. THE DIVINE COMMUNICATION OF THE BUSH! (EXODUS 3:4)
Now, as you know from what we’ve read about Moses thus far, Moses made some mistakes. He goofed. He messed up. Preserved from death, Moses was introduced by God's providence into Pharaoh's household, adopted by his daughter, and nourished as her own son. With all the privileges of royalty, he had received a magnificent education and had been trained as a soldier, statesman, and scholar, In the words of Acts 7:20-22, ''Moses was exceeding fair...was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and deeds.''
By the age of forty, he was a trained, educated, and polished man that could have taken his place in any society. It would seem he was on the threshold of a brilliant career. But Moses made a tragic blunder that made him useless to God and man for 40 years and left him in the backside of the desert. (EXODUS 2:11) You can only imagine the natural impulse of a man moved with compassion for his own people. The sight of one of his own defenseless people being mercilessly whipped was more than he was able to handle- which is why Moses flipped out and killed the Egyptian. You see, there is a distinct difference between reacting to a need and responding to a call. Moses helping the slave was need-based. Moses had yet to learn to let God handle His affairs His own way. He had responded to a need rather than a call. EXODUS 2:13-14
When Moses tried to tackle a job he could not even bury one Egyptian successfully. Yet when God took care of the situation He buried the whole lot in the Red Sea!
The Present Message To Moses. Forty years have passed. Moses is 80 years old. For 40 years he has felt the frustration of failure and the discouragement of defeat. But God had a word for him.
Read: EXODUS 3:9-10
God tells Moses that He wants to use him. In failure he had tried to deliver one person, but God now tells him that He is going to use him to deliver a nation.God used a ''bush'' to communicate to Moses that He wanted to use him, GOD WANTS TO USE US!
Now I want you to notice an important lesson about being used of God. Moses first responded to a need and a task. But now he responds to a call, There are thousands of needs, but our commitment is not to a need but to a call! It is our business to commit ourselves to God and God's business to commit us where He wants us. The Divine Communication Of The Bush!
II. THE DIVINE CONTROL OF THE BUSH! EXODUS 3:2, 4 . The bush was under Divine control. This was no ordinary fire, this was God being revealed through the bush, In Vs.2, God appeared unto him from out of the midst of the bush, In Vs.4, God spoke to him out of the midst of the bush.
The Basis Of Control Is Submission. We must yield to God that He might be in charge and in control. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. Romans 6:13
God's command is to yield and be submitted. K. Hutcherson said that the definition of submission in a marriage is the wife ducking out of the way so that God can hit the husband.
The definition of submission in the Christian life is getting ourselves out of the way and letting God have His way. The Blessings Of Control Is Service. James Alexander Stewart in his book ''Heaven's Throne Gift'' in the chapter entitled, ''Four Fundamental Facts'' gives these 4 great truths: 1.What God claims, I yield. 2. What I yield, God accepts.3. What God accepts, He fills. 4. What God fills, He uses.
J.H. McConkey said, ''Whether long years in coming to this crisis of surrender, or reaching it at a single bound, every consecrated child of God knows that the act of yielding was the supreme step that brought him into the fullness of the closer walk with God.''
III. THE DIVINE CHOICE OF THE BUSH! The bush caught the attention of Moses. He turned aside to see why it was not consumed. In doing so he made a marvelous discovery. God wanted to use him. Our inquiry leads us to realize that if we let God control our life He will use us. But there is one more great lesson we need to see in this Divine usage of this bush.
Through the years I have seen those who abounded in talent and skill, yet were not used of God. From purely human standards, they were highly qualified for Christian service, yet were spiritually useless.
On the other hand, I have seen those who lack any specific skill or talents, yet God used them in a special way. WHY?
There were hundreds of bushes in the desert. But there was the one that burned. Maybe Moses thought, ''There is something very special about this bush. There is something peculiar and wonderful about a bush that can burn and not be consumed. From our way of thinking, we would say that not just any old bush would do. No sir, God would only use a special specie of bush, a unique brand of bush. All those old scruffy, scraggy desert bushes would never do.
But the truth is, it was not the bush that was special. It was God in the bush that made the difference. ANY OLD BUSH WOULD HAVE DONE! Any old bush will do if only God is in the bush!
