Without the Fire it is just a bush
Scripture: Exodus 3:1-12
Title Without God's Fire, It's only a Bush
INTRO:
Good morning and welcome in the name of Jesus, Our Savior and LORD.
This morning, I would like for us to ponder on a very simple, yet very powerful thought that has to do with our passage of scripture. It is this:
Without God's Fire it's only a Thorn Bush.
Without God's Fire it is only a Rubus Sanctus - a thorn bush that has red berries that turn black. (http://www.jewishnaturecenter.org/html/burning_bush.html).
Without God's Fire, it is simply a blackberry bush and around here we have all seen plenty of blackberry bushes. Exodus chapter three shares with us that it was just a regular old thorn bush, one among hundreds that would have lived in the area where Moses fed his flocks of sheep and goats.
No doubt, Moses had seen this same thorn bush many times. For 40 years, this area had been one of the places that he and his father-in-law, Jethro, had used to tend their flocks. The place had provided enough water and vegetation for the sheep and goats to eat and be nourished.
We can be pretty confident that after using this area for some forty years, Moses probably knew every rock, every tree and every bush around the place. But the day that Exodus 3 refers to proved to be a rather unusual day. That day, the bush which from a distant could have been covered in red berries looked vastly different. It wasn't the red berries that caught Moses' eye, it was the fire that was engulfing the bush. There was something about that fire that drew Moses to go and examine it.
Now, Moses had seen fire before, after all he had lived in Egypt as well as the desert and both places used fire to cook food, to provide heat, to purify, and cleanse things. A day did not go by without people of his time seeing or using fire. And it wasn't unusual for there to be an occasional fire in the desert area, it was just a part of the natural ecosystem.
So, it wasn't the sight of fire that caught his attention. It was the fact that the bush was not burning up. It was the fact that the fire was not consuming the bush. Moses could see the flames and the smoke but the bush remained green and healthy. This was something that Moses or anyone for that matter would have taken the time to go and check out. How many times have you seen a blackberry bush on fire?
This morning, we want to focus on what made that blackberry bush different. It wasn't because of its shape or size. It was because of the presence of God's Fire that made it different. And that is what we want to focus on this morning. For without God's Fire it's only a Thorn Bush. Without God's fire it is only one black berry bush among a dozen black berry bushes. But with God's Fire let's see what it becomes and what spiritual truths it shares with us this morning:
I. With God's Fire the Bush became God's Dwelling Place
No sooner had Moses got within a few feet of that bush and he began to hear a voice. Again, the man was use to hearing voices. After all, he had a father-in-law, a wife, some children and a whole bunch of sheep and goats. His life was full of all kinds of voices and noise. It wasn't like he was a monk who had taken a vow of silence.
This voice, however, was not coming from the sheep or from a family member, it was coming directly out of the fire that was engulfing the bush. Now, it is vital that we understand something very important right here. The fire did not originate with the bush. In other words, the fire did not naturally start from the dryness of the bush. Rather, we need to understand that the fire came to the bush and rested on it. The fire, God's Presence came and rested upon the blackberry bush. Had it just been a regular fire, the bush would soon have been consumed and all Moses would have soon witnessed was a pile of ashes and he would have heard no voice.
Instead, our writer wants us to understand that the fire was God Himself. God had come down to earth in the form of fire and was inhabiting this bush to talk to Moses. God was using the blackberry bush as a dwelling place.
Before there was the Tabernacle or the Temple, there was a Thorn bush. The LORD is not limited by the size, or the shape, or the substance of the place or object He desires to dwell. God can just as easy dwell between the angels on the ark of the covenant as He can between the thorns of a blackberry bush. God's Presence, God's Essence and His Fire can dwell anywhere and everywhere He desires.
But this morning, the LORD's passion is to do more than simply dwell in bushes, or tabernacles or even temples. God did not send His Son Jesus to die on a cross for nature or manmade structures to be His primary dwelling place. God desires much more than those types of dwelling.
The Apostle Paul, in Ephesians 2:22-23, shares with us that it is God desire to dwell in the hearts and minds of redeemed human beings. This oneness is Jesus' prayer that John recorded in His Gospel in John 17. Listen to just a part of that prayer and you will understand more fully:
" ... that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one. I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me." (John 17: 21ff ESV)
There is no doubt that Our LORD seeks to dwell in us this morning. The LORD seeks to dwell in our hearts and lives. How can God do this? What do we need to do in order to experience God's Spirit in us?
All we have to do is allow His Holy Spirit to purify our hearts and lives and sanctify us with His Holy Fire. All we have to do is to be born again and experience the baptism of the Holy Spirit. All we have to do is be rid of our sin and be filled with His glorious Holy Spirit. Everyone of us, this morning, can be that black berry bush we read about here in Exodus chapter three. You and I can enjoy being the dwelling place of God's Holy Presence and Fire.
This is in fact, the wonderful message shouted out by this story of the thorn bush. It is the message shouted out by the tabernacle and temple. And it is the message shouted out by the signs and wonders experienced on the Day of Pentecost. Jesus preached in the Sermon on the Mount that you and I are to be lights, in other words, to be the LORD's fires in our world. You and I are to be the dwelling place of God's fire in this world. A fire that doesn't come from us, but comes from and through the baptism of the Holy Spirit. A fire that burns within us. A fire that burns through us. A fire that does not consume us, rather it is a fire that transform us. A fire that allows us to be one with the LORD and to be a vessel of the Holy Spirit. Jesus died so that you and I can be a man and woman on fire for the LORD.
Because you see,
Without God's Fire, It's Just a Bush.
II. With God's Fire, this bush became God's Mouthpiece
Exodus chapter three tells us that not only was this blackberry bush a place for God to dwell, it was also a mouthpiece for God to proclaim salvation. It was a mouthpiece for God to speak redemption, renewal and restoration.
God used the bush as a mouthpiece to speak His message of salvation. God spoke clearly and loud enough for anyone and everyone around to hear. God did not whisper out of that bush. God spoke loud and clear. All Moses had to was to stop and listen. Thank the LORD, this morning, that Moses did stop and listen.
Did you know this morning that the LORD wants to speak to all of us right here and right now? Why else do you think He would want us to gather in His house? Can you imagine someone inviting you to their house for an hour or two and not talking to you? Can you imagine someone inviting you to their house only to shun you? Do we really think God wants us to gather in His house and not talk to us? So many people misunderstand God when it comes to God speaking to them.
Do you know why God seeks for us to pray, to praise and to worship? Do you know the ultimate purpose of redemption and being renewed in the image of God? It is simply this, God desires to share space with us, desires to speak to us, and even speak through us.
Prayer is to be much more than a monologue session. Worship is to be much more than us singing our favorite songs. We gather to speak to God and hear from God. Prayer is simply conversational time with God. It is that time we talk to God and we listen to God. It is the same when we read His Word, when we worship and praise. It is all done to be with God, to be one with God and that includes talking and hearing from God.
The LORD speaks to us a million different ways each day, if we will just listen. He speaks through all of His creation. He speaks to us through nature, through the stars in the sky and through the clouds and wind. All we have to do is listen. God loves to talk to us through His Holy Word and through music. If we will listen, God will speak through our hearts and minds. God will even speak to us through the words of our friends and family.
The only problem God has in speaking to us, is that sometimes we are not dialed in to hear God or we have too much ear wax that we can't hear Him. This is what Jesus was referring to in Matthew 13:15. For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.’ (ESV)
The problem is not on God's side it is on our side. At times, we are simply too hard of hearing to receive the voice of God.
There’s an old joke that goes like this: When you talk to God, we call it prayer, but when God talks to you, we call it schizophrenia. The problem today is too many people believe the joke to be true and have closed off their ability to hear God. They think that something is wrong if they desire or expect to hear from the LORD. They are so use to church looking more like a funeral home than being the fire storm it was on Pentecost Sunday and beyond.
God spoke to Abraham, Job, Noah and in our passage to Moses. God spoke to David, Solomon and to Samuel. God spoke to Elijah, Daniel and Isaiah. The Bible is full of story after story of humans and God enjoying conversations with one another.
God wants to speak to all of us. All we have to do:
a. Have a desire to listen - we have to want to listen
b. We have to prepare to listen
c. We have exercise our listening muscles - we have to dial into God's voice
Every minister and every person who shares the Gospel of Jesus Christ passionately seeks this one thing - and that is to be able to get up and say what the prophets of old like Ezekiel were able to say time and time again - "THE WORD OF THE LORD CAME TO ME." "THIS IS THE WORD OF THE LORD." "THUS SAYS THE LORD."
We see this beautifully expressed in the beginning verse of the book of Hosea - "WHEN THE LORD FIRST SPOKE THROUGH HOSEA" That my friend, is the ultimate desire of all godly men and women.
This is the reason why ministers, evangelists, Sunday school teachers and small group Bible leaders spend so much time in study and in prayer. They want to be able to share God's Word to His People. They want to be God's mouthpiece. They want to share words of redemption, renewal and restoration. They don't want to just get up and talk.
They understand that speaking for God is more than just getting up and talking. If you take the right classes, learn the right techniques or possess some natural gifts, almost anyone can get up and speak. While some people do it better than others, the truth is, given enough time and opportunity almost everyone can give a speech or a talk.
But no one worth their salt wants to just get up and fill the air with noise when it comes to sharing God's Word or God's message for His People. Instead, they are driven with a passion to be God's mouthpiece. They are driven to saturate their lives in prayer and in the Word. They want the LORD to speak through them. They have no greater joy than when God uses their bodies, their hearts, their minds and especially their mouths to share His message with His People. To be lazy in this area is both foolish and dangerous. We should never attempt to speak for the LORD as ministers, teachers or as small group leaders without spending time in prayer and in the Word. Being God's mouthpiece is a sacred privilege to be cherished.
And the really cool thing this morning is, God is still looking for people to speak through. More than ever today, God needs some people who will be just like this blackberry thorn bush, who will allow God to dwell in their hearts and speak out of their mouths. God is looking for those like Isaiah who will answer the call - Here Lord, send me! (Isaiah 6:8). God is looking for people to tell others about salvation, redemption, renewal and restoration. God is looking for people to be His mouthpiece.
Because you see -
Without God's Fire It's Just a Bush
III. With God's Fire, this bush became a place of purity and transformation.
This simple little blackberry bush transformed into a sacred place. It became a place where Moses could remove all that stood between him and God. It became a place where He experienced a heart change. It became the launching pad for the People of God to experience freedom from both physical and spiritual slavery.
There is a scene in the old movie. The 10 Commandments, that starred Charleston Heston as Moses, that is amazing. It is after Moses has been at the burning bush and is returning home. Zipporah, his wife looks out and sees the change in Moses appearance. Moses is no longer the same man since he has talked and experienced the LORD.
Hollywood did an excellent job expressing this change by changing the color of Moses' hair and putting a glow on his face. It was their way of showing that Moses had undergone a transformation. They wanted to show that being with the LORD changed a person from the inside out.
At age 80, Moses was really only a second rate shepherd. He was still tending his father-in-laws sheep. He hadn't built an empire like Abraham and He wasn't rich like Job. For forty years he had become a pretty good shepherd but nothing to emulate or be amazed. We would not have been impressed at all if we had lived near him at that time.
However, after being with God, Moses is no longer the same man. He is full of God's fire, full of God's Holy Spirit. He is now a vessel of God that will stand up to Pharaoh and all the might of Egypt. He is a man who will oversee miracle after miracle, and will be instrumental in freeing the whole nation of Israel. For generations they had been slaves but it would be through Moses that God would free His People. Moses would become the leader, provider and intercessor of those same people for 40 years until his death at age 120. He would be the person who the Holy Spirit will lead to start compiling and writing down the Torah, the Word of God.
Like the bush, Moses needed God's Fire. In his own strength, Moses could do nothing. However, standing on holy ground, Moses removed all that separated him from God. He allowed God's fire to purify him and fill him with the Holy Spirit. Moses became a transformed man for the LORD.
Acts 2 shares with us another man God put on fire. Fifty-one days prior to Pentecost, the Apostle Peter was cursing the name of Jesus. He was using Jesus' name as a swear word and lying about his relationship with Jesus. He wanted nothing to do with Jesus. He was only worried about saving his own neck.
But by the time we come to Acts 2, Peter had spent some time on sacred ground. Instead of kneeling before a bush, Peter knelt with 119 others on the floor of the Upper Room. Peter used those 10 days between the Ascension and Pentecost to ask God to purify him and fill him with the baptismal fires of the Holy Spirit. And then on Pentecost Sunday, when the fire fell, the Apostle Peter was change agent for the LORD. Instead of denying Jesus, Peter was the man God used to bring 3,000 people into the Kingdom.
It is amazing what God can do if we allow Him to purify us and empower us with His Spirit. When we receive God's Fire, we are never the same. God's fire changes us. God's fire cleanses us. God's fire ignites our hearts for God and for others. God's fire will enable us to praise and rejoice. God's fire makes a prayer warrior out of us. God's Fire will do more than we can even think this morning.
Today, we need people who have been purified and empowered by the baptism of the Holy Spirit. We need people who will not get up from a personal altar of prayer until they have been ignited by the fire of the Holy Spirit. We need people to ask the LORD to turn up the dial on their spiritual pilot light and quit acting like they can't afford Holy Spirit anointing oil. Some people act like they are trying to conserve the fire of the Holy Spirit. They act like there is a Holy Spirit shortage coming out of heaven. They are acting as if we just keep the pilot light on all will be well. That all we need to do is to have a little light on, to have our spiritual pilot lights on. We can't expect more than just a little light.
Well, I don't know about you, but when I am cold, I need more than a pilot light. I need to see the fire burning and I need to feel the heat. Otherwise, I will go where I can see the fire and feel the heat. The same is true in God's church. Our world is black and cold and sadly going to Hell as fast as the Hell train will travel. It needs the light and the heat of a church on fire for the LORD. It needs to see the burning bush of people's lives. It needs to hear the true voice of God. And it needs to find the place where it can experience purity and transformation. Let us determine to be more than a pilot light church. Let us determine to be a church that burns so bright and brings so much heat, that we have to have a constant flow of the Holy Spirit's oil to keep up with our size of our flame.
Because you see -
Without God's Fire, It's just a Bush
IV. Finally, this morning, with God's Fire this bush became an Everlasting Witness
The story of Moses' encounter with the burning bush is one that has been shared for over 3,500 years and is still being shared today. It is one of the great Vacation Bible School stories and one of the great stories to look at in a small group setting. The burning bush has become an everlasting Witness for the LORD.
This story has stood the test of time. Each time it is shared, we once again are amazed at the wonder, the majesty and the call of God. We are amazed to hear how God sought to save, redeem and restore His People. There is something about this story that comes alive. There is something about the story that is supernatural. There is an everlasting quality to this story.
It is the same with every story that involves the fire of God. For example:
a. Most people love to hear the stories of when the fire came down upon the Tabernacle and Temple. They love to hear how God's Shekinah glory filled His Temple.
b. They love to hear the stories of the pillar of fire as it protected and led the Children of Israel.
c. They love to hear the stories of the fire pulled down through the prayers of Elijah.
d. They love to hear the stories of when that same Elijah was taken up in a chariot of fire.
e. They love to hear the story of when the coals of heavenly fire were placed on the lips of Isaiah purifying his heart and soul.
f. And they love to hear the stories of when the Holy Spirit came upon the 120 in the form of tongues of fire.
All of those stories are not only exciting to read, but they are full of majesty and wonder. They all are witnesses of God's glory, honor and power.
This morning, you and I can be a witness for the LORD just as much as that burning bush. However, it is up to us to make sure that God's Fire is in our hearts and lives. It is not up to anyone else. Whether we are a church on fire, a family on fire or individuals on fire is solely up to us.
It will depend on if we are ready to surrender and allow God to dwell in our hearts and lives.
It will depend on if we are ready to give God our bodies, our minds and our voices.
It will depend on if we are ready to allow God to purify us and transform us from the inside out.
But this morning, we will leave behind some kind of witness.
In the book of Revelation, Jesus speaks to His churches. One church stood out for its faithfulness and fire. It was the church of Philadelphia. It was the Church of the Open Door. Philadelphia was a church on fire and God was opening all kinds of doors for them. And in response they were opening up the doors of their heart for God and for the least, the lost and the last. Everyone who came to their church was overwhelmed with God's love and mercy. They were enjoying the fires of the LORD. Philadelphia was a burning bush for the LORD.
However, Jesus tells us that another church stood out for its lack of fire. We could say that it was a pilot light church. The best it could do was to provide a lukewarm atmosphere. The people possessed a haughty spirit. Many of those that attended this church looked down on others. They spent their time judging and being critical about those who attended their services.
This church had the ability to push people out instead of drawing them inside the doors. It was not a church of the open door. It was the very opposite. And to top it off, this church was under the misconception that it needed nothing. It thought it was the best congregation around. But in God's eyes, it was a poor, wretched, pitiful, blind, naked and sick congregation.
It needed a burning bush experience. It needed to become God's mouthpiece. It needed to repent and be transformed in God's Presence. Only then could it be a witness for God. Only then could it become the Church of the Burning Bush.
Because you see -
Without God's fire, It's just a bush -
It is true that without God's fire, a church is just a building. Without God's fire, a congregation can at best be only a snobby little fellowship.
And for a great many churches across America that is what you find. A Pilot light church, just enough fire to make it lukewarm. Just enough fire to take away some of the cold but not enough to be able to burn away the impurity, the sexual immorality, the strife, the jealousy, the anger, the rivalries, the dissensions and divisions, the critical and judging spirits. They don't possess enough of God's fire to burn away the pride to where the hearts are on fire for God, for others and especially for the lost, the last and the least.
Too many churches across our nation not only have welcome signs on them but they also have keep out signs. They determine who can come in and who has to stay outside. While some pass the test, sadly too many are left outside. Too many are judged unworthy to be a part of our Christian fellowships.
Right now, up in heaven records are being written. Right now, angels are taking down profiles on each church, each small group and fellowship that meets in the name of Jesus Christ. Right now, angels are labeling different churches/fellowships/small groups:
+Dead like Sardis - no life, no fire, - living just on tradition and rituals
+Lukewarm like Laodicea - just a pilot light church - wretched, blind and naked spiritually
+And then, praise the LORD, there are those that are like Philadelphia
- a burning bush Church, full of burning bush people.
People who will allow the LORD
a. Dwell in their hearts and lives
b. Be God's mouthpiece speaking His message of salvation, sanctification and holiness
c. To use them as sacred places where people can experience true freedom, be purified from all their sins and experience the transforming baptism of the Holy Spirit.
d. To make them a witness of a life burning with His Fire - His Presence
This morning, we are going to close by singing that song - How the Fire Fell - # 506 (SING TO THE LORD - NAZARENE HYMNAL)
This morning, as God's blackberry bush, as God's thorn bush, as God's man or woman - are you burning bright? Are you allowing yourself to be God's mouthpiece? Have you experienced God's fire - a fire that purifies and sanctifies? Is your life being a witness or are you a pilot light Christian - little fire, little witness.
Well this morning, God can relight your fire. God can turn up your pilot light through the anointing of His Holy Spirit. God can purify you, sanctify you and baptize you in His Holy Spirit. God can make a witness out of your life. As we sing, allow the LORD to light up your fire today.
