SURPRISES FROM GOD!
Exodus 3:1 Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb. 2 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. 3 And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.4 And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. 5 And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. 6 Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.
I have been preaching over 45 years in over 125 countries of the world and yet when I think I have seen everything, the Lord surprises me with something I have never seen. However, He has always been the God of surprises. Example after example we can find in the Word of God. Let us just look at a few of them.
I. Moses with the (Exodus 3:3) "And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt." :4 "And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses.
What was unusual was that this bush burned but was not consumed.
A. This was a surprise.
B. There was Sara and Abraham having a baby at their age.
C. The 70 that Jesus sent out in Luke 10 came back surprised that the spirits were cast out in Jesus Name.
D. At the tomb of Lazarus many were surprised in John 11.
1. The biggest surprise was how he came out wrapped like an Egyptian mummy, it came out under the power of God.
E. Jesus rising from the dead.
F. Appearing to His disciples in a closed and locked room.
G. His ascension to heaven in Mark 16.
II. There is one very great surprise coming: (Rev 1:7 KJV) Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.
A. We as believer should not be surprised. We should be ready to meet HIM.
B. The best way to prepare for the coming of Christ is never to forget the presence of Christ.
C. The great preacher F. B. Meyer once asked D. L. Moody, "What is the secret of your success?" Moody replied, "For many years I have never given an address without the consciousness that the Lord may come before I have finished." This may well explain the intensity of his service and the zeal of his ministry for Christ.
III. Many have been the surprises in our ministry over the many years.
A. I remember during an altar call in Ventura, CA years ago that while I was praying for those who came forward to receive Christ that there was a little boy weeping back in the pews. I found out later he was only 5 years old. I just had to go to him and ask him he wanted to be saved. He looked up at me with tears rolling down his face that not only was he saved but was filled with the Holy Spirit. Upon continuing to cry, I ask him then why was he crying so? He looked at me and said God has done so very much for me, I just asking Him to make a preacher out of me! Praise the Lord! He was only 5 years old.
B. In Yugoslavia during a crusade in a village, the young people who were coming to Christ told me that they were going to bring an antique to the meeting. They brought a 100-year-old woman to the service and she was saved.
C. In our crusade in Brazil a man was healed as an answer to prayer in his legs. The surprise was that he was 108 years old.
1. We are never too old or young to receive from the Lord.
D. During one open-air crusade in Northeast Argentina that came to stone me, but God kept the stone from hitting the platform.
IV. I believe this is why Jesus said in: (Mark 9:23 KJV) Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.
Let God surprise you by opening your heart up to HIM today!
