The Ordinarythe Common.

The Ordinary.

Exodus 3:1-5NIV

Moses had a pretty, ordinary occupation, tending sheep. Most of us have ordinary lives.

Can you imagine a more routine existence? Moses must have felt like he had been put out to pasture. He once dreamed of delivering the people of Israel out of captivity. He had the means and opportunity to bring forth change living in Pharaohs palace. However, that dream died when Moses killed an Egyptian Task Master and fled the country as a fugitive.

“God knows how to resurrect dead dreams.” PH

Moses spent the next 40 years on the backside of the desert shearing sheep. “And I have a feeling that Moses got up this particular morning, put on his sandals and picked up his staff and figured it would be an ordinary day just like the day before… And the day before the day before… And the day before that.”

Therefore, this takes us to:

Exodus 3:1-5NIV 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 wilderness 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.”

What mountain is this? Mount Horeb, also called Mount Sinai, and called the Mountain of God, is where God appeared a number of times. (Back to that later).

Have you ever experienced an Epiphany, a moment when God unexpectedly and unforgettably, invaded the monotony of your life? “I’ve had several.- life changing.”

Exodus 3, Moses going up the mountain of God on the backside of the desert. This became a pivotal moment and place for Moses. God showed up.

Therefore an ordinary place, a bush on the backside of the desert, became holy ground.

God loves to anoint the common.

That seems to be the way the Holy Spirit works, doesn’t it? He loves to show up and surprise.

Paul writes in, 1 Corinthians 2:2-4NIV For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. 4 My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power,

Jewish scholars used to debate why God appeared to Moses in a burning bush. A thunderclap or lightning-bolt would have been more impressive.

And why scale Mount Horeb on the far side of the desert? These scholars concluded that God appeared to Moses in a burning bush to show that no place is devoid of God’s presence, not even a bush on the backside of the desert.

This became Moses’ personal altar. Have you ever wondered why we quit building altars?

We need altars that renew our faith by reminding us of the faithfulness of God. We need to go back to those sacred places to repent of our sin, and renew our covenant with God. Also we should celebrate what God has done.

Once again, have you ever noticed how often people in the Old Testament built altars?

It got me to thinking, I wonder if Peter ever rowed out to that spot on the sea of Galilee, where he walked on water? Did Zacchaeus ever take his grandchildren back to climb the sycamore tree, where he caught the first glimpse of Jesus? Did Lazarus ever revisit the tomb where he was buried for four days? Did Paul ever ride out to the mile marker on the road to Damascus where God knocked him off his high horse? Did Abraham ever take Isaac back to Mount Moriah, where God provided a ram in the Thicket?

And I wonder if Moses ever returned to the burning bush, took off his sandals, and thanked God for interrupting the 40 year routine of his life by giving him a second chance to make a difference.

The answer to that is, yes he did. This altar led Moses up!

Mark 9:2NIV After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them.

Notice when Jesus led Peter James and John up the Mount of Transfiguration? We don’t give the elevation issue a second thought, right?