We often act as though God tells us what He wants us to do and then sends us off all by ourselves to try and do it. Then, anytime we need Him we can call on Him and He will help us, but otherwise, we are basically "on our own" when it comes to doing the will of God for our life. But that is certainly not the biblical picture of how God works in our lives.
When God is about to do something in our lives or through our lives, He has to get us from where we are to where He is. In doing so, He takes the initiative to draw us toward Him, so that we might hear His voice and understand what He is doing and what He invites us to do - by way of obedience - to join Him in His work. One thing we must know - WE CANNOT STAY WHERE WE ARE AND GO WITH GOD! To follow God’s direction will always make a difference in my life!
Today, I want us to think about the spiritual dynamics associated with discovering and getting in on God’s will.
A 36 year old unmarried woman came to her pastor with a very stressful dilemma. She explained, "Pastor, to put it simply, I want to be married. I’m approaching 40 and I think it’s time. The understanding pastor tried to exercise wisdom in consoling the anxious single. He reminded her that God had a perfect plan for her life and she could not improve on the will of God. She responded to his discourse on God’s plan by saying, "Pastor, I’m not trying to improve on it, I just want to get in on it!"
Because we cannot improve on God’s will, we should want to make sure we get in on it. There are 7 realities by which we can be led in God’s will and experience Him in our lives. Today, as we consider the story of how Moses committed himself to following the call of God, I want us to take note of them.
Reality #1: God Works - Exodus 2:23-25
God was already at work around Moses, even though Moses did not realize it. God was aware of the needs of His people and God had been at work to bring about their deliverance. God is always about His redemptive work (John 5:17). He is always at work, to accomplish His purpose of drawing a people unto Himself that will bring glory and honor to Him. He is always moving and working. Just because we cannot recognize the hand of God doesn’t mean He isn’t at work in the world.
For centuries, Israel had looked for the corning of the Messiah. They wondered when the Messiah would come and why He had not yet arrived. For some 400 years prior to John the Baptist, there had not even been a prophet sent by God. Where was God? Well, He was at work. He was orchestrating world events, raising up people who would obey, and maneuvering circumstances so the Messiah could come and accomplish the work world redemption. Then, Paul tells us, "when the time had fully come, God sent his Son" (Galatians 4:4).
Had God been doing nothing to bring about world redemption prior to our Lord’s arrival on earth? Of course not! He had been at work all along! That’s what Jesus was saying in John 5:17! In the same way, God had been at work to set the stage for what He was calling Moses to be a part of.
Not only that, but He had also been at work to make Moses usable in His work/God had provided for his survival (Exodus 1:22-2:6). God had provided for his spiritual development (Exodus 2:7-10). God had provided for his education, as he grew up as a person of privilege in Pharaoh’s house-hold. God had placed a passion for His people in Moses’ heart (Exodus 2:11-13). God had taught Moses that God’s will must be accomplished God’s way (Exodus 2:11-15; Acts 7:25). God placed him in the land of Midian, where he married into the family of Jethro, the priest of Midian, who would later prove to be one of Moses’ best advisors; and where he would become familiar with life in the desert (Exodus 2:16-22). All of this was of God. God was definitely at work.
Likewise, God is not only at work around us, but as a child of God, I can be assured that he is always at work on me (Philippians 1:6)! This means that when God calls me to join Him in something, I can be assured that He has providentially been at work to equip me with what I will need to obey!
Reality #2; God Pursues - Exodus 3:1-6
God pursued a continuing love relationship with Moses that was real and personal. God took the initiative in calling Moses to Himself. God’s work in our lives is always at God’s initiative (1 John 4:19).
Note what God used to draw Moses to Him. The miracle was not that the bush was burning. It was a rather ordinary occurrence for a dried up bush to burst into flames in the hot desert sun. The miracle was that it was not consumed (v. 3)! An ordinary event was used for an extraordinary purpose.
This is the way God works today. He often calls us to turn in His direction through seemingly ordinary occurrences, ordinary situations, ordinary people, that He uses for His extraordinary purpose. It is a mistake to insist that God’s call will only be through some miraculous, extraordinary circumstance.
No, He often calls us to Himself by using the ordinary things of life. How is God calling you to Himself today?
Note also that it was only when Moses turned toward God that he heard God’s voice (v. 4). If we would hear God voice, we must respond to His call to turn our lives in His direction! It is only as we turn our lives in His direction, that we will be in a position to hear His voice.
Finally, note that Moses’ hearing the voice of God was, in and of itself, an encounter with God, for it changed his life (v. 5). Literally, God said, "Stop approaching me in the manner in which you are doing." You see, this encounter changed Moses’ walk before God! God told Moses that the ground on which he was standing was holy ground, because Moses was in the presence of a holy God. In acknowledgment of this, Moses was told that was should remove his sandals, which was the common way for one to show their acceptance of the position of a servant, for while master’s wore shoes, servants did not (Luke 15:21-22). Though we are the sons and daughters of God, we must recognize also that in acknowledgment of His holiness and majesty, we should willingly take on the position of a servant!
As it was with Moses, so it is with us. God is constantly at work in our lives, even through seemingly ordinary circumstances, calling us to turn our lives in His direction, so that we might hear His voice, and have an encounter with Him that results in surrendering ourselves to be His servant!
Reality #3: God Invites - Exodus 3:7-10
God invited Moses to become involved with Him in His work. When God is ready to do something, He always seeks to reveal to a person or to His people what He is going to do (Amos 3:7).
Note the progression of things: God’s initiative - "I have indeed seen" -v. 7; "I have heard" - v. 7; "lam concerned" - v. 7; "I have come down" -v. 8. God’s invitation - "lam sending you " - v. 10 God told Moses, I am going to do a work, and I want to use you as my instrument!
Reality #4: God Speaks - God spoke to reveal Himself, His purposes, and His ways to Moses.
A. God revealed Himself to Moses - Exodus 3:13-15
He revealed Himself as a God who is sufficient for every need everyday!
B. God revealed His purpose to Moses - Exodus 3:12
God’s purpose has not changed! He is at work, calling a people unto Himself who will live in such a way as to bring glory to God (Ephesians 1:11-12). This purpose of God is said to be ETERNAL (Ephesians 3:11).
C. God revealed His ways to Moses - Exodus 3:16-22
There are various ways in which God is seeking to fulfill His eternal purpose. It is in this work that He calls us to join Him. In so doing, God will reveal His ways to us in three stages:
1) He shows us WHAT He wants done - Exodus 3:7-10
2) He shows us HOW He wants it done - Exodus 3:11-4:17
3) He shows us WHEN He wants it done - Exodus 4:18-20
(v.19)
Reality #5 - We Trust - Exodus 3:11; 13; 4:1; 10; 13
God’s invitation to work with Him led Moses to a crisis of belief that required faith and action! As Moses looked to his resources and ability, he could see how what God was calling him to commit to could be done. He had to get to the place where he no longer looked to his resources or ability, but to God’s resources and ability! As we read this exchange between God and Moses, we see God pointing Moses toward His resources and ability. Eventually, Moses emerged as one who was willing to trust God.
When you believe that nothing significant can happen through you, you have said more about your belief in God than you have said about yourself! Moses had to turn from looking to himself to looking to God (Luke 18:27)!
This was an overwhelming task that God was calling Moses to be part of when you think about it.
Moses and the people were in the desert, but what was he going to do with them? They had to be fed, and feeding 2 or 3 million people requires a lot of food.
According to the Quartermaster General in the Army, it is reported that Moses would have to have had 1500 tons of food each day. Do you know that to bring that much food each day, two freight trains, each a mile long, would be required!
Besides you must remember, they were out in the desert, so they would have to have firewood to use in cooking the food. This would take 4000 tons of wood and a few more freight trains, each a mile long, just for one day. And just think, they were forty years in transit. And Oh yes!
They would have to have water. If they only had enough to drink and wash a few dishes, it would take 11,000,000 gallons each day, and a freight train with tank cars, 1800 miles long, just to bring water!
And then another thing! They had to get across the Red Sea at night. Now, if they went on a narrow path, double file, the line would be 800 miles long and would require 35 days and nights to get through. So, there had to be a space in the Red Sea, 3 miles wide so that they could walk 5000 abreast to get over in one night.
But then, there is another problem . . . each time they camped at the end of the day, a campground two-thirds the size of the state of Rhode Island was required, or a total of 750 square miles long . . . think of it! This space was just for camping. Do you think Moses figured all this out before he left Egypt? I think not!
You see, Moses believed in God. God took care of these things for him. Now do you think God has any problem providing you with whatever you need to walk in His will?
Reality #6 - We Adjust - Exodus 4:20
Moses had to make major adjustments in his life to join God in what He was doing. Experiencing God is not matter of getting God to come to where I am, but getting me to come to where God is! God does not come to us on our terms, but we must come to Him on His terms!
A recent news feature chronicled the growing search for stress relief through spas, massage, pills, and exercise tapes. The craving to ease tension has spawned an entire industry, including walk-in backrub stores in shopping malls across the country. The report ended by saying, "Although people will pay to fix their stress, they are not about to change the lifestyle that is causing it."
No matter what the problem, our initial response is to treat the symp¬toms rather than the cause. The same is often true of us spiritually as Christians.
It doesn’t matter how often I come to church, if I am not willing to make the adjustments in my life that God says are necessary for me to get where he is calling me to be, I will forego the blessings of experiencing God at work in my life (Isaiah 1:19)!
Whatever needs to change in order to get in on what He has in mind for me, I must be willing to change! I need to give priority to "getting under the spout where the glory’s pouring out!"
Reality #7 - We Experience God!
Moses came to know God by experience as he obeyed God and God accomplished His work through him. Oh, that we would content ourselves with the world’s definition of success, but rather, let us understand that “true success consists of knowing God’s will and being in the center of it" (George W. Truett).
“God willing, I will push and politick no more . . . the mountains are too high, history is too long and eternity is longer. God is too great, man is too small, there are many of God’s dear children, and all around there are men (& women) going to Hell. And if one man and a small group of men do not approve of where I am and what I do, does it prove I’ve missed success? No; only one thing will determine that — whether this day I’m where the Lord of lords and King of Kings wants me to be.” - Francis Schaeffer
Conclusion: Where are you in your present experience with God? Are you where He wants you to be?
