October 20, 2002
In the movie Awakenings Robert DeNiro is a 50 year-old post-encephalytic vegetable. Encephalitis caused Parkinson-like loss of motor control (tics). These tics accelerate until they freeze a person catatonically, within himself.
Robin Williams plays Dr. Sayer, who (self-admittedly) is just not good in relating to people. He is assigned the care of Leonard Lowe (DeNiro). Sayer theorizes that a certain drug might work, and tries different dosages with Leonard.
One night Dr. Sayer falls asleep next to Leonard’s bed, and wakes to find him gone. Searching frantically, Dr. Sayer finds Leonard in the game room, writing his name on a chalk board. It is the first time Leonard has moved in thirty years. He looks at Sayer and smiles, It’s quiet.
Sayers replies, It’s late; very late. People are asleep. Leonard’s smile increases, I’m not asleep.
Eventually, the side effects of the drug make it impossible to continue administering it, and, without the awakening drug, Leonard slips back into his sleeping existence. Like that drug, without the presence of God we are little more than the living dead.
Both secular and religious sources document the exodus of the Hebrew peoples from Egypt. The whole world pays respect to the name of Moses.
Muslims revere him as a forerunner of Mohammed.
Christians and Jews alike accept the Pentateuch (Genesis thru Deuteronomy) as the inspired Word of God, given through the pen of Moses.
If there is one common ingredient seen in the life of Moses (as with the other great men of the Bible) it is the presence of God. In Deuteronomy (34:10) Moses is described as a man who knew God face to face.
The burning bush was the experience that changed the life of Moses and the course of history. It affected every moment of Moses’ life. Even when he was saying goodbye to his people for the last time his prayer for them was the good will of Him that dwelt in the bush.
Things happen when you stand on holy ground, in the presence of a holy God....
FEAR IS REMOVED BY COURAGE
And he said, Who made thee a prince and a judge over us? intendest thou to kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian? And Moses feared, and said, Surely this thing is known. Exodus 2:14 (KJV)
And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness. Exodus 5:1 (KJV)
Before experiencing the presence of God Moses tried to do everything in his own strength. He was a Hebrew, but he was raised in Pharaoh’s house. When he found out about his heritage he attempted to force things to turn in favor of his new found people. That led him to murder an Egyptian. But things didn’t go as Moses planned. Everything backfired, and he became a hunted criminal. Doing things on your own – especially in ministry – is not a good idea!
After fleeing to Midian to escape from Pharaoh, Moses encountered the Lord in that bush, and he learned to serve in God’s strength. How different, more courageous is the Moses that stands before Pharaoh (5:1a) to say Let my people go.
In his own strength Moses killed an Egyptian, secretly hiding the body in the sand.
In God’s strength Moses proclaimed openly the God to whom Pharaoh must bow.
A very attractive offer was made to me a number of years ago. It was an opportunity to move right into management with an insurance company. The first year salary would have been more twice what I was making at the time.
The yearly possibilities went upward exponentially. At the time the financial pressures made the offer a great temptation. It would be fair to say I was afraid NOT to take the offer. There was only one problem....God had called me to a ministry of sharing the gospel.
Placing my financial need over that on which God had prior claim, was trusting in myself more than God.
I took a deep breath and said no to the job offer.
My fear had been great about paying the bills, but the memory of my own burning bush gave me the courage to be faithful. Once you’ve stood in the presence of a holy God fear is replaced by courage.....
FAILURE IS RESTRUCTURED TO FRUITFULNESS
Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to slay Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian: and he sat down by a well. Exodus 2:15 (KJV)
Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh,
that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt. Exodus 3:10 (KJV)
Moses’ mistakes made him a hunted man. In the eyes of all Egypt he was a failure.
I don’t like to fail. There is this competitive attitude in me that doesn’t like to admit defeat. When we were just boys my brother would sit on top of me to hold me down, and tickle me until I yelled UNCLE as a sign that I’d given up.
Then, when he would let me up, and I would be out of arm’s reach, I would show him my crossed fingers, and shout, I DON’T GIVE UP! -- and run like the wind.
Moses ran to Midian, and spent forty years tending sheep and contemplating the horizen. It hardly seems that would be fitting material for a resume’ of the man who would lead a nation out of bondage. But you just can’t judge what God is preparing you for by the standards of men.
Joe was born into an Italian immigrant family. They had a 300-year heritage of fishing. All the children helped. Everyone except Joe, that is. The smell of fish made Joe sick, and the motion of a boat on the water was worse.
In a family that saw fishing as the only respectable way to make a living, Joe was a complete failure.
His father called Joe, Good for nothing.
Joe DiMaggio never made it in the fishing business, but he was a moderate success with the New York Yankees.
Moses couldn’t stand his family Pharaoh business, and was sent away, a failure. But God turned Pharaoh failure into wilderness wisdom, and prepared him to lead the nation of Israel to the promised land.
What a difference a burning bush can make!
Moses RAN from Pharaoh, but he BOWED before God.
That changes failure into fruitfulness....
FRUSTRATION IS REPLACED BY OPPORTUNITY
And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid: and the children of Israel cried out unto the LORD.
Exodus 14:10 (KJV)
And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will show to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. Exodus 14:13 (KJV)
With mountains on both sides, the Red Sea in front, and Pharaoh’s chariots breathing down on them from behind, God’s people were at a crisis point.
They could give up to Pharaoh and go back to Egypt (many favored this);
They could give up altogether and drown in the sea (not too attractive);
Or they could give up their frustration and worry to the Lord.
Moses encouraged them to face the crisis with faith.
The Chinese word for crisis is composed of two picture-characters....the one means danger and the other opportunity. I believe the story of the three businesses illustrates....
Three men had adjacent business in the same building.
The one who ran the store at one end of the building put up a sign reading Year-End Clearance.
At the far end of the building, the other businessman followed with a sign that said, Closing-Out Sale.
The businessman in the middle knew his business was in for hard times, so he put up a sign that said, Main Entrance.
We know the main entrance into the kingdom is by faith. Why is it that the mountains, Red Seas and Pharaoh’s armies are what we tend to see, more than the deliverance the Lord has for us?
Remember, barriers that cause frustration and fear are created;
Deliverance promised to the believers is from the Creator! A burning bush, and the presence of God turns
your fear into courage,
failure into fruitfulness,
frustration into opportunity, …and…
FOLLOWERSHIP IS REWARDED BY LEADERSHIP
So Moses hearkened to the voice of his father in law, and did all that he had said. Exodus 18:24 (KJV)
And they judged the people at all seasons: the hard causes they brought unto Moses, but every small matter they judged themselves. Exodus 18:26 (KJV)
Moses had an interesting dilemma on his hands. He’d led a whole nation of slaves out of slavery. The problem is that they still thought and acted like slaves.
What do you do with three million people dependent upon you for every decision?
How do you teach them to act responsibly, so that the group can prosper?
Moses quickly discovered that he was wearing-out over the heavy load of meeting every need. His father-in-law, Jethro, offered some wise advice - to enlist the faithfulness of the people to serve as leaders.
It was a Godly idea, spoken in a Godly manner to a Godly man, and it had a Godly result (v.26a)...the people SERVED!
Taking instructions from God had gotten Moses into the habit of listening for, and hearing the voice of God.
It takes good followership to make a good leader.
In space, when two satellites or ships want to rendezvous, the one chasing the other in orbit must slow-down in order to catch-up. The reason is that if you increase the speed, you move into a higher orbit than the craft in front, and miss it altogether.
The way docking is handled by NASA is for the chase vehicle to start out in a higher orbit, and slow-down to a lower orbit to match the target vehicle.
It is this way with following God. If He is your target, you must get in the same orbit, so you can dock securely, open the hatches and have close fellowship with Him. You cannot experience His presence when you’re in a different orbit!
The Christian, without the presence of God, is fearful, failure-prone, frustrated and ill-led. These can be removed, restructured, replaced, with the presence of God and His courage, fruitfulness, opportunity and direction.
How do we experience the presence of God?
How can we be known as people who know God "face to face?"
Come back to the bush!
You haven’t seen a burning bush lately? I submit to you that you indeed have seen the bush.
It’s shaped like a cross, and it burns with the love of God.
It is crimson-red (like the bush Moses saw), stained with the blood that cleanses from all sin.
This burning cross-bush is the place of holy ground.
And all who kneel there find forgiveness
...and the presence of God.
Hear it...Understand it....Do something about it.
