ANY OLD BUSH WILL DO
Ex. 3:1-10
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR
1. President Bush was going through an airport when he saw a man who looked like Moses. He asked him, "Are you Moses?" The man acted as if he didn't hear.
2. He asked him again, "Are you Moses?" The man refused to look at him. The third time, Bush got right up close and asked, "Are you Moses?" "Yes!"
3. "Why didn't you answer me the first two times I spoke to you?" "Because the last time I spoke to a bush, I spent the next 40 years on the backside of the wilderness."
B. TEXT
1 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 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. 3 So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.” 4 When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.” 5 “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” 6 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 to look at God. 7 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. 8 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. 9 And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. 10 So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt."
C. THESIS
1. When God lights a fire, you can expect it to have effects. In every generation, God has caused His sacred fire to burn among His people. In fact, he commanded us to never let His fire go out.
2. This morning we're going to look at what God's fire did in the life of Moses and see how it is applicable to our lives. This message is entitled, "Any Old Bush Will Do."
I. BACKGROUND: THE FAITHFULNESS OF MOSES
A. MOSES’ UPBRINGING
1. "Train up a child...." Moses’ mother did train him in the ways of God. He afterwards was trained in all the lore/wisdom of the Egyptians, yet he never forgot the faith of his fathers.
2. According to the ancient historian, Philo (Life of Moses, 1:13), Moses was the adopted son of Hatshepsut. She was her father's only child and she was otherwise childless.
3. If true, then HE WAS HEIR TO THE THRONE! To throw away such wealth and position must have seemed an act of folly. He owed his life to the Princess (That’s why He was a ‘basket case’).
4. Surely God had put him there to help his people from the throne. IF YOU HAD BEEN MOSES, WOULD YOU HAVE BEEN WILLING TO LEAVE IT ALL FOR GOD?
B. MOSES HAD TO CHOOSE ONE LIFE OR OTHER
1. 24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. 25 He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. 26 He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward” Heb. 11:24-26.
2. QUESTIONS:
a. Have you refused to play along with the world?
b. Rather be mistreated than enjoy the pleasures of sin?
c. Have you chosen disgrace rather than world’s rewards?
d. GOD CALLS US TO A CHOICE!
3. ILLUS.: “IT’S EASY WITH THE DEVIL”
a. Red Devil Tool Company of Union, N.J. has as their slogan, “It’s easy with the devil.” Of course, they are boasting that their tools transform difficult tasks into simple ones.
b. That’s just like Satan who makes sin appear to be attractive. He shows how pleasant sin and immoral conduct can be.
c. Of course Satan never shows the tragic end of sin: the premature deaths, the broken and dysfunctional homes, plus the loneliness and the heartache sin brings.
d. The bible does say there is a pleasure in sin, but such pleasure is only momentary. The end result is not only pain, but separation from God on earth, then in eternity. Life isn’t easy with the devil- it’s the worst of all lives.
4. MOSES CHOSE something better than ruling on the throne of Egypt a short time, or having a closet full of gold; something better than a few dancing girls.
5. Where are the Pharaohs of Egypt today? Where are the dancing girls? (Dead and turned to dust). Where is Egypt's glory today? A few stone monuments are left, slowly turning into dust. Had Moses chosen them, that's all that would remain of his poor choice.
6. WHAT MOSES SAW:
a. But Moses saw that the eternal glory of God's kingdom would smash and triumph over all others.
b. He saw a City with walls made of precious stones, where the streets are paved with gold, and pleasures abound.
c. Moses saw Jesus would make him an heir of it all and he would sit with Jesus on His throne and rule and reign!
7. How petty the throne of Egypt looks next to the throne of God! How petty the gold of Egypt looks next to the gold of heaven! How foolish to choose passing pleasures of this world over eternal rewards!
8. Moses weighed them on the scales: the best part of the world versus the worst part of eternal life -- and God's kingdom easily won the contest. Have you made the same choice?
C. 40 YEARS AND NO ACTION
1. 40 years passed with Moses on the "backside of the desert," OUT IN THE DESERT, THERE WERE NO…
a. No Beautiful Egyptian girls b. No good food
c. No pleasant sounds, smells d. No entertainments.
e. He slept on the ground, ate locusts and honey, drank from a creek, all he smelled was goats. 40 years in the heat and rugged country with little water.
2. Don't you know the devil mocked him? "What a fool you were to leave all that!" "God’s forgotten you." "It's all for nothing, your serving the Lord." Moses was probably at his lowest place.
3. Maybe some of you are at a low place. God hasn’t forgotten you! God has a plan for life, just hang in there!
4. A JOKEster said Moses was one of the most wicked people in history; He broke all 10 commandments at once!
II. WHAT GOT MOSES’ ATTENTION
A. THE ASBESTOS BUSH
1. Some have tried to explain this Bush by claiming that it was a "Fire Bush," which spontaneously would catch on fire when the conditions were right. NOT SO!
2. Moses saw it burning, and paid no attention. It wasn't until much later, when it should have long been ashes, that Moses began to sense something supernatural.
3. It burned like a gas-log fire; the bush remained perfectly unharmed.
4. Was God ever manifested before that in fire? Yes! What was unusual however, was that it was burning in a bush. This is meant to teach us a lesson.
a. This was supernatural fire; material fire would have burned up the bush. Like Pentecost – fire on their heads, hair not burned!
b. There was no harm in the fire. It symbolized Grace in Judgment.
B. WHY WAS THE BUSH ON FIRE?
1. To get the WORLD’S ATTENTION. God needs a bush to burn through. Will we be that Bush?
2. To show His Judging/purifying Nature. When the world sees your purified life, they'll see a difference.
3. Demonstration of Mercy. The bush, though on fire, wasn’t harmed. Normally, God burns up the chaff with unquenchable fire.
C. WHAT IT SIGNIFIED
1. Verse 8, "I have come down..."
2. A MOVE OF GOD IS COMING. There is movement in the establishment of the kingdom of God. The "smoking and burning lamp" of Abraham (Genesis 15) has flared into a fire!
III. ANY OLD BUSH: WHY GOD CAN USE YOU!
A. IT WAS ONLY A BUSH
1. That fire was not in a Tall and Stately Cedar, but a common bush, a thorn bush.
2. Many plants have marketable value -- you want some plants to decorate your front yard; others to eat. But not a thorn bush, it had NO VALUE; you wouldn’t want it around at all.
a. No animals could eat it;
b. It provided no shade;
c. It Produced no Fruit;
d. It hurt you if you got too close.
3. It was a curse rather than a blessing. But how many of you know that God can take a life that is cursed and turn it into a blessing?
B. GOD’S PRESENCE MAKES THE DIFFERENCE
1. You see, You and I are a lot like that bush. We're pretty worthless in ourselves, but when God puts His presence in us, we become special. "We have this treasure in vessels of clay."
2. There were many bushes out there, but God chose that one.
3. Did you know that God chose You? He did! "You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen You and ordained you that you should go and bring forth fruit" John 15:16
C. NOT TALENT BUT AVAILABILITY MAKES YOU A CANDIDATE
1. That Bush didn't have to have gifts/talents for God to use it. Neither do you. God delights in using humble vessels. 1 Corinthians 1:27-29.
2. That Bush could have said: "I can't be God's Instrument..."
a. Inability -- "I'm not educated enough,"
b. Age: "I'm too young/I'm too old."
c. Rejection, "I'm afraid Moses will think I'm weird."
d. "I'm too busy" (to do God's work?)
e. “I'm not good enough." (You don't have to be.)
3. That bush didn't have to influence a lot of lives -- just one! That one, however, influenced many millions.
4. That bush was where God made it to be -- on the Mountain of God.
5. If we stay in the place of prayer, God will clothe us with His presence and power.
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION
1. During the height of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln often found refuge at a Presbyterian Church in Washington DC.
2. He would go with an aide, sit with his stovepipe hat in his lap, and never interrupt the meeting because the congregation would all be in a dither if they knew the president had come to sit in that midweek service.
3. He sat off to the side, near the pastor's study, as the minister would open the Scriptures and teach God's Word and would lead the congregation in worship. The war was tearing the nation apart and tearing his soul. Having just lost his own son, Lincoln was on the bottom, and he needed solace and sustenance
4. As the pastor finished his message and the people began to leave, the president stood quietly and straightened his coat and took his hat in hand and began to leave.
5. The aide stopped him and said, "What did you think of the sermon, Mr. Pres.?" He said, "I thought the sermon was carefully thought through, eloquently delivered." The aide said, "You thought it was a great sermon?"
6. He said, "No, I thought he failed." "He failed? Well, how? Why?" "Because he did not ask of us something great." (Bruce Larson)
7. Teddy Roosevelt believed, "Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much, nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat." (Charles Swindoll). God save us!
B. THE CALL
1. I want to challenge you today to do great things.
2. Do not consider your talents or abilities, only consider the Mighty Power of the Living God!
3. "Any Old Bush will do" to be God's instrument to change the world. How many would volunteer to be God's bush? And be filled with God's presence?
4. Let's let the FIRE OF GOD burns in our hearts. That's the kind of faith that will get the attention of the world.
5. But the Fire of God only falls on what is consecrated to Him. Will you surrender your life for His purpose? Moses… “chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt.”
6. Stand up if you choose God first.
