The Bush Is Still Burning… Stop Beating Around The Bush

The Bush Is Still Burning… Stop Beating Around The Bush

Exodus 4:13-17 New Living Transition… But Moses again pleaded, “Lord, please! Send anyone else.”

14 Then the Lord became angry with Moses. “All right,” he said. “What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he speaks well. And look! He is on his way to meet you now. He will be delighted to see you. 15 Talk to him, and put the words in his mouth. I will be with both of you as you speak, and I will instruct you both in what to do. 16 Aaron will be your spokesman to the people. He will be your mouthpiece, and you will stand in the place of God for him, telling him what to say. 17 And take your shepherd’s staff with you, and use it to perform the miraculous signs I have shown you.”

Introduction: Moses was a time waster.

Moses was unaffected because he was unavailable. Reference John 4:24

Transition: When you beat around the bush the only time you’re wasting is your own!

Exposition: When you waste time beating around the bush, you learn some valuable lessons…

–Submission isn’t a look it’s a life (Lord)

Reference Luke 6:46 “So why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say”?

–Sovereignty isn’t to be toyed with (angry)

–Substitution isn’t the blessing you think it is (Aaron) 

Reference Exodus 32, Numbers 12, Numbers 20

–Service is a privilege not a burden (verse 17)

Conclusion: When God’s call is on your life, no will always be the wrong answer!

The Bush Is Still Burning… You Spelled It Wrong

The Bush Is Still Burning… You Spelled It Wrong

Exodus 4:10-12 New Living Translation… But Moses pleaded with the Lord, “O Lord, I’m not very good with words. I never have been, and I’m not now, even though you have spoken to me. I get tongue-tied, and my words get tangled.”

11 Then the Lord asked Moses, “Who makes a person’s mouth? Who decides whether people speak or do not speak, hear or do not hear, see or do not see? Is it not I, the Lord? 12 Now go! I will be with you as you speak, and I will instruct you in what to say.”

Introduction: God’s agreement with your admission of having an ailment, doesn’t disqualify you for the assignment.

Unhealed progression means that God doesn’t have to change you as a person, in order to charge you with purpose!

Transition: What’s wrong with you doesn’t make you wrong for God!

Exposition: For forty years, all Moses can spell out for God and himself, is I can’t.

–I can’t be articulate

Reference Acts 7:22

–I can’t get it together

–I can’t be positive

Reference Romans 12:3

Conclusion: As long as you count on yourself, all you’ll be able to spell is can’t. When you learn to count on God, you’ll spell it right, C-A-N!

The Bush Is Still Burning… Don’t Come Empty Handed

The Bush Is Still Burning… Don’t Come Empty Handed

Exodus 4:1-9 New Living Translation… But Moses protested again, “What if they won’t believe me or listen to me? What if they say, ‘The Lord never appeared to you’?”

2 Then the Lord asked him, “What is that in your hand?” “A shepherd’s staff,” Moses replied.

3 “Throw it down on the ground,” the Lord told him. So Moses threw down the staff, and it turned into a snake! Moses jumped back.

4 Then the Lord told him, “Reach out and grab its tail.” So Moses reached out and grabbed it, and it turned back into a shepherd’s staff in his hand.

5 “Perform this sign,” the Lord told him. “Then they will believe that the Lord, the God of their ancestors—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—really has appeared to you.”

6 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now put your hand inside your cloak.” So Moses put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out again, his hand was white as snow with a severe skin disease. 7 “Now put your hand back into your cloak,” the Lord said. So Moses put his hand back in, and when he took it out again, it was as healthy as the rest of his body.

8 The Lord said to Moses, “If they do not believe you and are not convinced by the first miraculous sign, they will be convinced by the second sign. 9 And if they don’t believe you or listen to you even after these two signs, then take some water from the Nile River and pour it out on the dry ground. When you do, the water from the Nile will turn to blood on the ground.”

Introduction: The question of “what if” stalls, stunts, and suppresses the possibility of greatness in our lives.

Moses learns that the bush is still burning with God’s fiery presence, and that is an indicator that God has not changed God’s mind!

Transition: God is patiently God.

Reference The book of Jonah; Isaiah 55:11.

Exposition: God did not come down to deliver Israel from slavery empty handed, and I’d argue that God, in our text, shows God’s hand and schools Moses on what’s in his hands.

Moses three signs… a staff that God transforms into a snake then back into a staff; a healthy hand that God transforms into a lifeless limb then back healthy; and a scoop of water from the Nile river that God transforms into blood.

Reference Galatian 6:7

Our God is not empty handed, God is the God of…

-Creativity

Reference Isaiah 55:8-9

-Flexibility

Reference Matthew 26:39

-Authority

Reference Romans 1:16

Conclusion: Whatever it is name it and use it, because that’s where you’ll find freedom. Don’t be startled by it, stingy with it, or stubborn about it!

The Bush Is Still Burning… You’re More Than I Ever Expected

The Bush Is Still Burning… You’re More Than I Ever Expected

Exodus 3:13-15 New Living Translation… But Moses protested, “If I go to the people of Israel and tell them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ they will ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what should I tell them?” 14 God replied to Moses, “I am who i am. Say this to the people of Israel: I am has sent me to you.” 15 God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: Yahweh, the God of your ancestors—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you. This is my eternal name, my name to remember for all generations.

Introduction: Life doesn’t always turn out as we hope, but it’s more than we ever expected!

Transition: Moses doesn’t know the name of God, meaning that he is unaware of God’s nature and authority.

Exposition: Moses asked God for and expected a noun, but God responded with a verb.

Tetragrammaton = Y H W H (yod he waw he)

Adonai (Lord) + YHWH = Yaweh/Jehovah

Reference Exodus 20:17

–Sovereign (in control)

–Holy (being different)

Kedesh (Hebrew) = apart/consecrated

Reference Isaiah 6

–Eternal (lives forever)

Reference Psalm 90:4

Conclusion: Only God knows how to transfigure your downs into ups!

The Bush Is Still Burning… It’s Not About You Anyway

The Bush Is Still Burning… It’s Not About You Anyway

Exodus 3:11-12 New Living Translation… But Moses protested to God, “Who am I to appear before Pharaoh? Who am I to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt?” 12 God answered, “I will be with you. And this is your sign that I am the one who has sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God at this very mountain.”

Introduction: Moses spent forty years caught in the chaos of being too Hebrew to be Egyptian, and too Egyptian to be Hebrew. He was stuck between his princely privilege and his biological bondage. Moses spent forty years wondering if he’ll ever truly fit in anywhere, and wandering through daily life hoping to discover his purpose. 

Transition: Moses experiences an identity crisis at eighty years old…

-Who am I? I’m favored and not forgotten!

-Who am I? I’m graced and groomed for this!

-Who am I? I’m a transformer ready for my next change!

Exposition: God does not reply in affirmation but in two-fold revelation…

–Presence (he’s here)

–Promise (there’s hope)

Conclusion: When we get over ourselves, and learn that God pays the bill for whatever God orders, that’s when God is able to use us for God’s glory!

The Bush Is Still Burning… Let God Be God

The Bush Is Still Burning… Don’t Miss the Moment

Exodus 3:7-10 New Living Translation… Then the Lord told him, “I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries of distress because of their harsh slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering. 8 So I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and lead them out of Egypt into their own fertile and spacious land. It is a land flowing with milk and honey—the land where the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites now live. 9 Look! The cry of the people of Israel has reached me, and I have seen how harshly the Egyptians abuse them. 10 Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You must lead my people Israel out of Egypt.”

Introduction: When it comes to God’s active presence in our lives, it demands our humble decrease so that God may be increased, giving way for our ordinary existences to be upgraded by the extraordinary God.

Transition: Exodus 3:7-10 reveals a silent Moses, who has humbly decreased (Reference John 3:30) to let God be God.

Exposition: We hear the pain and faith of the Israelites, and we hear the plan and faithfulness of God.

–Ascending Prayer

Reference Zechariah 2:8; James 5:16

–Descending Power

Rescue. Reestablish. Rich Land.

Conclusion: Between the prayer and power is over 400 years of slavery. It was a worrisome wait.

The Bush Is Still Burning… Don’t Miss the Moment

The Bush Is Still Burning… Don’t Miss the Moment

Exodus 3:4-6 New Living Translation… When the Lord saw Moses coming to take a closer look, God called to him from the middle of the bush, “Moses! Moses!” “Here I am!” Moses replied. 5 “Do not come any closer,” the Lord warned. “Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground. 6 I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” When Moses heard this, he covered his face because he was afraid to look at God.

Introduction: Moments matter, because once time is spent you just can’t get it back.

Transition: Moses’ internal inadequacy coupled with his investigative intrigue, leads him to the burning bush.

Exposition: Moses moves closer to the bush that spontaneously ignited, expecting a visual but instead he heard a voice…

–Crackling Call

–Commanding Counsel

–Connecting Covenant Reference Exodus 2:23-25

Conclusion: Moses covered his face not in fear but in reverence.

The Bush Is Still Burning… Pay Attention

The Bush Is Still Burning… Pay Attention

Exodus 3:1-3 New Living Translation… One day Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock far into the wilderness and came to Sinai, the mountain of God. 2 There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the middle of a bush. Moses stared in amazement. Though the bush was engulfed in flames, it didn’t burn up. 3 “This is amazing,” Moses said to himself. “Why isn’t that bush burning up? I must go see it.”

Introduction: Moses was having an ordinary day, but he was about to meet the extraordinary God.

The word ‘settled’ is noteworthy, because the first forty years of Moses’ existence was quite extraordinary. Reference Exodus 1:1-10

Transition: The Sinai Peninsula was littered with acacia bushes. The atmosphere was ripe for the combustion and consumption of the bushes.

Exposition: Paying attention is hard work, especially when you’re…

-Hiding from your past Reference Exodus 2:11-15a

-Hardworking in the desert

-Hanging out with animals

Conclusion: Probing questions…

-What are you looking for?

-Why are you looking for it?

House Party 2 of 4

House Party 2 of 4

I’ve Fallen and I Can’t Get Up

Luke 15:8-10 NLT… “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and sweep the entire house and search carefully until she finds it? 9And when she finds it, she will call in her friends and neighbors and say, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost coin.’ 10In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents.”

Introduction: In response to the Pharisees’ complaints over Jesus’ ministry tactics, Jesus tells parables to explain God’s relentless pursuit of those who are lost. The stories that are told, would have been repulsive to them, because shepherds and women were thought to be beneath them.

Transition: This Greek coin (drachma) has been dropped and has rolled, causing it to be lost inside the house.

Exposition:

The context of being lost is in dirty darkness.

The course of action to recover what is lost is illumination and agitation.

Conclusion: The party in this version of the parable is of the feminine persuasion.

House Party 1 of 4

House Party 1 of 4

Get Over Yourself

Luke 15:1-7 NLT… Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach. [2] This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such sinful people-even eating with them! [3] So Jesus told them this story: [4] “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? [5] And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. [6] When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ [7] In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!

Introduction: Luke 15 highlights the parabolic teaching of Jesus, to rebuff his combatants, the Pharisees. 

Transition: God is focused on content, context, and celebration.

Exposition: Jesus admonishes the Pharisees to get over themselves in the following ways…

-Rules don’t trump revival

-Perception is your problem

-Staying instead of straying doesn’t make you more valuable

Conclusion: One of the common denominators in this chapter, is that each scene includes a house party. Celebration is a necessary component!