FIRE OF GOD
(Exo 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."
(Exo 3:2) "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."
I. Moses was 80 years old and a shepherd on the backside of the desert.
A. He failed at age 40 to deliver the people of God out of bondage.
B. Now at age 80 he has a visitation from God in the form of a sign and wonder, a burning bush.
1. Some asked what is a wonder; it is something that causes you to wonder.
2. Sometimes God will intervene in ways we can never expect.
C. Dry bushes catching fire in the desert is not so unusual but this bush was not consumed. It drew Moses to the site.
(Exo 3:3) "And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt."
(Exo 3:4) "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."
D. Our part is to answer the Call of God so we can be used of God at any age.
E. Coming into God’s presence is a holy place. The bush was not holy, but God is holy. Even the ground the bush grew from was holy.
(Exo 3:5) "And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground."
1. Doing good works does not make us holy. Walking with Him and living in His presence makes us holy.
2. He is the God of all people.
(Exo 3:6) "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."
F. He knows our needs even before we know them.
(Exo 3:7) "And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;"
G. He is ready now to work in our lives. He is the God of the Now!
3:8 And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey;
II. Moses wanted to know Gods Name.
...... What is his name? what shall I say unto them?
A. We cannot truly know His Name until we call on His Name for salvation.
B. He is not the great I was, or the great I am going to be. He is the great I AM. He is the God of the NOW!
Exo 3:14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.
C. Moses had authority from God. That is where you and I draw authority to be His ambassadors her on earth.
III. God meeting every need on the desert. Phil. 4:19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
A. He gave them air condition during the hot day with the cloud and at night when the desert changes from very hot to very cold, He gave them heat with the fire by night.
(Exo 13:21) "And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night:"
(Exo 13:22) "He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people."
IV. The Fire of God gave the children of Israel protection.
(Zec 2:5) "For I, saith the LORD, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her."
V. God’s fire refines us. Why? So we can know Him.
(Zec 13:9) "And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God."
A. This fire of God should be in us letting the world see the Light of the World, which is Jesus living in us.
(Mat 3:11) "I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:"
1. If a thing reflects no light, it is black; if it reflects part of the rays, it is blue or indigo or red; but, if it reflects them all, it is white.
We shall seek, not to absorb, but to reflect, the light from heaven. Thus we shall become pure and spotless, like the "white robes," which the saints wear in glory. (Rev. 7:9)
-Encyclopedia of 15,000 Illustrations
B. The fire of God is in the angels and His ministers.
(Heb 1:7) "And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire."
C. We need to let the Fire of God burn all dross from our lives.
(Heb 12:28) Wherefore we receiving a kingdom, which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:
(Heb 12:29) For our God is a consuming fire.
For more info on this sermon visit Tony Abram at www.abundantlifecrusades.com.
