The Danger of Decisionism: Why Salvation is Not a Human Choice

• Divine Communication Methods [00:44:59 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor outlines how God speaks today: through the written Word (Bible), the Holy Spirit illuminating Scripture, and circumstances/open doors, contrasting this with the unique theophany of the burning bush.
• Scripture vs. Feelings [00:45:59 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor argues that feelings can be misleading and deceptive, and therefore must always be tested against the lens of Scripture, which is the clearest and safest way God communicates.
• The Burning Bush Theophany [00:44:01 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor explains the burning bush as a unique historical theophany (visible/audible manifestation) that should not be expected today, noting that God now speaks through His Son and the written Word.
• Moses' Wilderness Season [00:39:00 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor describes Moses' 40 years in the wilderness as a period of feeling forgotten and buried dreams, illustrating that God's timing often involves long seasons of waiting before He begins to use us.
• The Deception of Feelings [00:47:04 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor warns that human feelings can be tricked and misread, necessitating a return to Scripture to verify alignment with God's Word.
• Modes of Divine Communication [00:47:27 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor outlines how God speaks through the Holy Spirit illuminating Scripture, through circumstances (open/closed doors), and through the church community.
• Divine Providence and Interruptions [00:49:11 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor explains that God orchestrates details in our lives, often through 'holy interruptions' or unexpected events, to get our attention.
• The Role of Community [00:50:19 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor emphasizes that God rarely calls us to walk alone, using the church community to confirm decisions, correct errors, and provide wisdom through multiple counselors.
• Discernment and Testing [00:57:28 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor provides tests for discernment: alignment with Scripture, reflection of God's character, confirmation by multiple means, and leading toward obedience rather than self-exaltation.
• Response to God's Call [01:00:31 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor outlines the proper response: slowing down, turning aside, approaching with reverence and humility, and obeying God's call.
• Reverence and Humility [01:02:14 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor instructs the congregation to approach God with reverence and humility, rejecting casual language like 'the man upstairs' in favor of recognizing God's holiness.
• Obedience and Trust [01:04:51 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor emphasizes that clarity often comes in the act of obedience, urging believers to trust God's next step rather than demanding a full strategic plan.
• Dependence on God's Presence [01:05:56 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor argues that God calls us to depend on His presence rather than our own adequacy, citing Blackaby's 'crisis of belief' and the example of Moses.
• Jesus as the Ultimate 'I Am' [01:08:23 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor connects the burning bush narrative to Jesus, identifying Jesus as the ultimate 'I Am' who fulfills the promise of God's presence.

• Sermon Illustration [00:36:24 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor shares a personal anecdote about buying a property on Greenway Road. He drove past the property over a thousand times without noticing the 'for sale' sign until one day he saw it, turned around, and purchased it, illustrating how God shows us signs we often miss because we aren't paying attention.
• Sermon Illustration [00:38:21 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor recounts the biblical story of Moses: preserved as a baby in the Nile, raised as a prince in Pharaoh's house, fleeing after killing an Egyptian, and spending 40 years tending sheep in the wilderness before God called him at age 80.
• Sermon Illustration [00:46:23 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses an analogy of metal tubes at a museum that feel hot or cold depending on the previous tube touched, illustrating how human feelings can be tricked and misread, emphasizing the need to test feelings against Scripture.
• Sermon Illustration [00:47:04 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses the analogy of touching a hot stove to illustrate how feelings can be deceptive and misread, requiring verification against Scripture.
• Sermon Illustration [00:49:30 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor references the biblical account of Moses and the burning bush, noting that God did not chase Moses but created conditions for Moses to notice and respond.
• Sermon Illustration [00:55:13 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor shares a personal anecdote about driving past a property with a 'for sale' sign a thousand times before noticing it, illustrating how we often miss God's interruptions due to busyness.
• Sermon Illustration [00:56:12 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor recounts the biblical story of Moses throwing his staff on the ground, which turned into a snake, to illustrate God's provision of signs for confirmation.
• Sermon Illustration [01:00:51 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses the biblical account of Moses at the burning bush to illustrate how God calls ordinary, reluctant people to join Him in His work, emphasizing that God meets our inadequacy with His presence rather than a pep talk.
• Sermon Illustration [01:06:26 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor references John Blackaby's concept of the 'crisis of belief' to describe the tension between hearing God's call and the required action of obedience.

• Pastoral Charge [00:45:25 ▶️ 📄]
  > Engage with the Bible to hear God's voice.
• Pastoral Charge [00:47:17 ▶️ 📄]
  > Test personal feelings against Scripture.
• Pastoral Charge [00:54:28 ▶️ 📄]
  > Pause and pay attention to God's interruptions.
• Pastoral Charge [01:02:14 ▶️ 📄]
  > Reduce busyness and distractions to be attentive to God.
• Pastoral Charge [01:02:42 ▶️ 📄]
  > Stop using casual language for God and treat Him with reverence.
• Pastoral Charge [01:09:58 ▶️ 📄]
  > Turn aside from busyness, approach God with humility, and ask what He wants you to do.
• Pastoral Charge [01:10:53 ▶️ 📄]
  > Open eyes, look, listen, and respond in faith to God's invitation.

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[00:00:00] God Almighty, God, we stand here before your presence today as your people, as your bride, as your church, to proclaim of who you are, to sing praises to the name of Jesus.

[00:31:46] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:31:46] Yes, God, you alone are worthy to be praised. So God, we stand before you today because of that sacrifice, because of Jesus.
[00:31:54] we can boldly stand before you and worship you in freedom so god help us to have moments like this not just on sunday mornings but every day of our lives we can reach we can go before the throne
[00:32:09] and worship sing holy is the lord god we love you speak to our hearts today to our minds change us and transform us by the power of your holy word we love you jesus in your name we pray amen thank

[00:32:21] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:32:21] you for joining us, church. You may be seated. Welcome to Venture Church. We're so glad that you're here today, whether you're joining us in person or online. If today's your first time with us, stop by the welcome desk in the lobby after the service. Our team's got a gift for you and
[00:32:44] we'd love to meet you. For everything happening at Venture, visit our website or tap your phone on that disc in the seat in front of you if you're here in person. We value the next generation and
[00:32:54] that's why we have Venture Kids Meeting at Adventureland every Sunday. Venture Youth on Wednesdays for students in 6th through 12th grade, and Venture Young Adults happening every Tuesday for anyone 18 through 29. And across every age, we're teaching God's Word and helping people
[00:33:10] build real relationships and settings that are made for them. And if this is all new to you and you want to learn more, Starting Point is happening on August 16th, and that's where the whole story
[00:33:20] comes together. It's one night, dinner's included, and you'll walk away knowing exactly who we are, why we exist and how you can find your place here. Because once you know where you belong, the next step is simple.
[00:33:31] Get plugged into a team and begin serving. Whether it's serving coffee on our connections team, using a camera with our production team, serving toddlers and teaching them about Jesus at Adventureland or in the mobile
[00:33:43] market with our Venture Care team.
[00:33:45] There's a role with your name on it.
[00:33:47] Head over to our website and discover your place.
[00:33:52] Another way to connect to your adventure is through your giving. Your generosity is what makes it possible to invest in every age and stage of life, serve our community, and keep doing what we do here every week. You can give online through the Venture app, through our website, or
[00:34:06] through the offering boxes around the campus. Thank you for giving today. Well, last week we covered the story of Moses and his adoption into Pharaoh's household. And today, Pastor Tim continues that journey. And we'll get to see how God pursues a personal relationship with each and
[00:34:22] every one of us and speaks into our lives in ways that we might not expect. We can't wait for you to hear it. Let's hear from God's word today. Good morning, Venture Church. Isn't it good to be in

[00:35:24] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:35:24] God's house today? Love it to worship God together and hear his word. And it's just an awesome day.
[00:35:31] Welcome to those who are joining us online. We're glad to have you with us today as well.
[00:35:35] we're continuing our study of the life of Moses just an incredible leader he was the one that was the lawgiver he was the deliverer of his people just really a remarkable man but you're going to see as we study the life of Moses he was not too dissimilar from you and I he was an
[00:35:59] ordinary man and he had he had faults and he had things that he didn't handle correctly and there's just so much to learn through his story that we're going to spend 10 weeks this summer just
[00:36:11] going through his life, and it really is an incredible story. And just before we start his story, I want to share another story with you. In 2018, my wife and I bought a house on Greenway
[00:36:24] Road, which is right up here next to the 7-Eleven. And so we bought that house, moved there, and our church office is located, and we still have the building. It's for sale, by the way.
[00:36:35] and across the street from the Outback Steakhouse and so every day I would leave my house and I would drive to the office and back and forth and who knows how many times I'd done that but
[00:36:47] from 2018 to 2020 I probably drove past this property a minimum of a thousand times and never paid a lick of attention to it and one day I'm driving on my way to the office just
[00:37:04] a normal ordinary day driving to the office and as I'm driving past this property I see a for sale sign and I look like that property's for sale so I go up and I do a u-turn turn around come back
[00:37:18] around pull over and look at it take a picture of the sign and go to the office and call the realtor and within about a week we had this property that we're in right now under contract and
[00:37:33] the people ask today, now that they see the building and everything's great, I get asked the question, how were you able to get such an incredible piece of property at such an amazing location? And I just say, God showed it to me one day on the way to work, you know? So here's the
[00:37:51] amazing thing. It had been on the market for over a year. The first sale sign had been there. I just didn't pay attention to it. And I wonder how many times in our lives God is showing us signs
[00:38:05] and we just miss them. We don't see them. We're not paying attention. As we study the life of Moses, last week we saw the remarkable beginnings of this man, how God preserved him as a baby,
[00:38:21] his mother, Jochebed, made a little ark for him, put him into the Nile. And you know the story, Pharaoh the king of Egypt's daughter sees them has compassion says oh we need to take care of
[00:38:31] this little baby gets Jochebed the mother to nurse Moses and then at a certain age brings him into the house and Moses is raised as a prince as part of the royal family and has an
[00:38:43] incredible time and then he you know he kills a guy and decides to flee and runs to the far side of the desert and then spends the next 40 years tending sheep on the backside of the desert. You
[00:39:00] know, 40 years is a long time to feel forgotten. Long time for a dream to be buried. By the time we meet Moses, he's not a prince anymore. He's not a deliverer. He's not a rescuer.
[00:39:16] he's an 80 year old shepherd walking behind someone else's sheep and someone else's wilderness Moses thought his story was over God said it was just beginning I wonder how many times in our lives we we think the same thing we think well you know my best years are behind me or I'm
[00:39:40] 80 years old and you know there's nothing left for me to do as 80 year Moses was 80 when God was ready to start using him. Amen? So today we come to one of the most famous encounters in all of
[00:39:54] scripture, the burning bush. It has been painted, it has been sculpted, it has been preached, and it has been sung about for thousands of years. It's an incredible story. It's a dramatic story, but it's more than just something that you read about in Sunday school, because I believe that God
[00:40:12] teaches us some things here about how he speaks, and how he gets our attention, and how we know it's really him who is speaking to us and then how we're to respond when we do hear from God
[00:40:23] these aren't theoretical kind of questions these are the questions that determine whether we live ordinary lives or whether we join God in doing something extraordinary you know every person in this room quite frankly probably is either by a burning bush at a burning bush or just past a
[00:40:48] burning bush we've all had signs in life the question is are we are we paying attention to the signs are we paying attention to the messages the stories are we paying attention to the calling
[00:40:58] of god in our lives many years ago in fact the first church i started back in ohio uh henry blackaby had just written a you know a a book called experiencing god anybody read the
[00:41:12] book experiencing god or been through any studies many of you did excellent book uh in it was a foundational truth that says God is always at work around us and that he pursues us and
[00:41:25] he wants to be in relationship with us and that he is continually speaking.
[00:41:31] So the question is not, is God speaking?
[00:41:34] The question is, are we positioned to hear and willing to respond?
[00:41:42] So today we're going to talk about that.
[00:41:44] I want to give you four questions that we need to answer, and then I'm going to give you some truths around those things.
[00:41:53] So if you have your Bibles, the book of Exodus chapter 3, we did Exodus chapter 1 and 2 last week, we'll do 3 and 4 today.
[00:42:00] Exodus chapter 3, beginning in verse 1.
[00:42:02] Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he fled the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.
[00:42:13] there the angel the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush Moses saw that though the bush was on fire did not burn up so Moses thought I'll go over and see
[00:42:26] this strange sight why the bush does not burn up 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 am I do not come any closer
[00:42:39] God said take off your sandals for the place where you're standing is holy ground then he said I am the God of the God of your father the God of Abraham the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob
[00:42:49] and at this Moses hid his face because he was afraid to look at God let's pray heavenly father we come before you this morning in the name of Jesus and God we are humbled that you would
[00:43:05] invite us to be a part of what you're doing God what an incredible thing it is that you would choose to use us in any way shape or form God I pray this morning that if you're speaking to
[00:43:23] hearts here today if there's someone that God you're calling someone that you're directing someone that you have a message for God that I pray that you would you would just open eyes and ears to that truth Lord I pray that you would soften hearts here today that they would be able
[00:43:38] to receive the word of God and any message that God you may want to give them. Lord these good folks have come today to hear from you not from me so I may I just fade into the background and
[00:43:49] God may you and your word and your Holy Spirit just speak to hearts today we pray we dedicate this time to you Lord in Jesus name amen. So this incredible story here of God speaking to Moses
[00:44:01] in the burning bushes is known as a theophany from a theological term it's an unmistakable visible audible manifestation of God's presence it was unique to that particular period in history we should not be expecting to be hearing from God from burning bushes today if you have a burning
[00:44:20] bush in your backyard call the fire department not me okay you know because it's probably just a burning bush the author of Hebrews tells us that God does speak today and he and he as he
[00:44:34] did in the you know in the past but he speaks differently we see in Hebrews chapter 1 verse 1 it says in the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various
[00:44:45] ways than a transition but in these last days he has spoken to us by his son whom he appointed heir of all things and through whom also he made the universe so the voice we're listening for
[00:44:59] has already spoken and his name is Jesus. So the question is how does he speak to us today? Well first of all he speaks to us through his written word. I mean this is it. The Bible is not a
[00:45:12] collection of just religious ideas. It's not a book of suggestions. It's not a museum piece. It's it's a living active voice of God. If you've been at Venture for any period of time you know what
[00:45:25] I'm going to do right now. God's mouth is open. God's mouth is closed. God's mouth is open. God's mouth is closed. If you want to hear from God today, you've got to get into the word of God.
[00:45:37] When scripture speaks, God speaks. This is the clearest, safest, and most reliable way that God communicates to us today. Every other impression, every other circumstance, every other scene, or every other sense of leading has to be tested against the lens of scripture because if it
[00:45:59] contradicts the word of god it's not from god so be careful sometimes people say well i felt that god was leading me like okay i understand but understand that feelings can be misleading feelings should never ever trump scripture always go with scripture i remember one time
[00:46:23] opposite Orlando I can't remember which which kind of a one of those upside down museum things one of those funny but they had there they had this they had this device it was at a table and
[00:46:34] it was these metal tubes and one metal tube was warm and the next metal tube was was cold not ice cold but just cold or cool and then the next one was warm the next one was cool the next one's warm
[00:46:46] the next one's cool so all of these metal pipes were just warm and cool warm and cool and yet when you put your hand on it you could hardly keep it there because it felt so hot you would
[00:46:55] just pull it back but then you would feel one it was just lukewarm you'd feel the next one it was cool but you put your hand there and it felt so hot you pulled it back you see our feelings can
[00:47:04] be tricked you know our mind can can misread certain things and when folks get feelings about what God may want them to do the first thing we have to do is we have to go back to scripture
[00:47:17] and make sure that it's in alignment with the Word of God because feelings can be deceptive.
[00:47:27] God speaks also by the Holy Spirit illuminating the Word of God.
[00:47:31] This is when the Holy Spirit makes the Word of God very personal to you and to me.
[00:47:37] Sometimes the Holy Spirit will use the Word of God to convict us and show us things that we shouldn't be doing.
[00:47:45] I didn't know I wasn't supposed to do that.
[00:47:46] i didn't know i wasn't supposed to say that think that say you go there do do this i didn't know the holy spirit will use the word of god to convict us he'll use it to guide us and point us in the
[00:47:57] right direction sometimes he'll bring a particular verse or passage to the forefront of our minds at just the right moment because we need to hear it sometimes he just uses the word of god to just
[00:48:11] give a real deep inner peace around a decision so the holy spirit will confirm the truth of the word of god in our lives and so we need to pay attention to it god also speaks through circumstances
[00:48:27] sometimes we'll call these open doors where it's clear that god is making a path available he's making something uh open for us that we should take a step and go into it sometimes we see closed
[00:48:41] doors sometimes timing God just won't let us move forward he won't he won't provide what's needed in order for us to go forward because he's he's he's holding us until the time is right sometimes we
[00:48:54] see repeated themes that keep just kind of surfacing in conversations that you didn't orchestrate but you know you just over and over again you keep hearing this same message and maybe God trying to just get your attention to pay attention to it so we need to recognize the
[00:49:11] providence of God that he does orchestrate many times the details of our lives, often more than we tend to notice. You see, Moses wasn't looking for a burning bush. He was simply doing ordinary work, the job that he had been doing for 40 years. But God had arranged an extraordinary
[00:49:30] interruption in what was an otherwise ordinary place. Now that's worth considering because you know God didn't wait for Moses to go to a temple or to a mountaintop retreat he met him on a Tuesday on the job with sheep and you know sometimes that's exactly when God meets us
[00:49:57] when we least expect it fourth God speaks through the church so what do you mean he speaks to the church he speaks through mature spirit-filled believers because God rarely calls us to walk alone and he almost anything he calls us to do it usually involves more than one person that's why
[00:50:19] he places us in community community is incredibly important and so he'll use our church community our church family to confirm a decision or or maybe to correct us or you know to encourage us we studied the book of acts last year in acts 13 if you remember the holy spirit spoke to the church
[00:50:38] at antioch while they were worshiping and fasting and and confirmed the calling on paul and barnabas and i believe that god still speaks through his church if you're convinced that god is leading you to do something you talk to some of the older men or women in the church who are mature
[00:50:56] christ followers who have a deep relationship with god and if they listen to what you're feeling and and they go i don't know you know and so you ask another and you get that same kind of that same
[00:51:09] kind of pause that you know the bible says that there's wisdom in the multitude of counselors There's safety in the multitude of counselors.
[00:51:16] Sometimes God puts us in community because it helps us to make wise decisions.
[00:51:25] The reality is God is not silent today.
[00:51:27] He is still speaking through his word, through his people, through his spirit.
[00:51:32] The real issue is, have we cultivated ears to hear?
[00:51:37] And that really brings us to our second question of the day, and that is, how does God get our attention?
[00:51:41] I want you to notice something here in the text that the bush did not chase Moses right God didn't shout to Moses from a distance through the bush hey Moses come over here no it wasn't like that at all it simply burned in a way that was impossible to ignore if you're
[00:52:07] willing to pay attention and then it waited it just burned and burned and burned verse 3 says that Moses thought I will go over and see this strange sight now it was only when Moses turned
[00:52:23] aside and went over to the burning bush that God then called his name God did not force the encounter he created the conditions and then he waited for Moses to see if Moses would notice and
[00:52:36] if Moses would respond you know I think God kind of does the same thing to us today he uses holy interruptions things that kind of disrupt the normal rhythm of our lives maybe it's a conversation
[00:52:51] that you didn't plan or phone call that you didn't know was going to come in a verse that keeps popping up over and over again you read it in your morning devotion and you and then you know you you
[00:53:00] you heard it in a radio on the way to work and then and then a co-worker talked about it and a preacher mentioned it on Sunday and all of a sudden you see this over and over again like maybe
[00:53:08] God's maybe God's trying to make a point here in my life maybe God will bring a person to your mind just out of the blue this person comes to your mind you get this burden I need to pray for this
[00:53:19] person I need to call this person sometimes God will allow a crisis into our lives to get our attention to slow us down he uses persistence the bush kept burning until Moses noticed and sometimes God just keeps bringing this situation up bringing this truth up bringing this verse up
[00:53:45] bringing this idea up maybe it's a thought and then this thought won't go away and it comes back and it comes up again and again and again and finally like you know what maybe this is God
[00:53:53] trying to speak to me because I can't seem to get this thought out of my mind in Blackaby's study he said listen God is always at work around us the problem is is we're so often too busy
[00:54:06] just surviving the week that we run past the burning bushes in our lives I think the invitation is the same as it was for Moses. Hey, turn aside and look. I wonder how many times in our busyness
[00:54:28] we've missed the encounters that God wanted to have with us, the messages that he had for us, the burning bushes in our lives, maybe a nudge in a Bible study that, hey, this is something you
[00:54:43] should consider. Maybe it was a person who came to mind that you should pray for or pick up the phone and call maybe a maybe a door that opened before you but it was too costly to walk through
[00:54:56] or too inconvenient or too disruptive to your life and you didn't say yes the bush was burning you just didn't turn aside Moses had walked that path most likely many times over the 40 years he
[00:55:13] was in the wilderness not too dissimilar to the fact that I drove past this property probably a thousand times before I noticed the for sale sign but one day I noticed one day Moses saw a burning
[00:55:30] bush and he stopped the third question we want to consider is how do we know that it's God who's really speaking and this is an important question because sincere people can get into a lot of
[00:55:45] trouble here Moses needed clarity too right he asked God for his name God said tell me I am sent you. He raised some objections. And I want you to see that God didn't shame him for having questions
[00:56:03] about the calling that he had before Moses. Exodus chapter 4, let's pick it up in verse 1.
[00:56:12] Moses answered, what if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, the Lord did not appear to you? Then the Lord said to him, what is that in your hand? A staff, he replied. The Lord said,
[00:56:24] throw it on the ground moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake and he ran from it i'll say moses and i have quite a bit in common here you know i would have done the same thing
[00:56:37] then the lord said to him reach out your hand and take it by the tail so moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand this said the lord is so that they may
[00:56:48] believe that the lord the god of their fathers the god of abraham the god of isaac and the god of jacob has appeared to you moses was just looking for confirmation he was looking for a little bit
[00:57:03] of proof you know we need discernment as well i mean subjective feelings are never enough feelings are not the final judgment of truth so we need to have some some some tests you know what are those tests? Well, the first one is, you know, does it align with the word of God?
[00:57:28] Does what I'm hearing, sensing, or feeling, does it align with what God says? Because God will never contradict his word. If what you are sensing violates a clear biblical principle or teaching about maybe purity or integrity or forgiveness or the gospel or the very nature of
[00:57:45] God, listen, then it's not from God. If it violates any of those things, the spirit of God and the word of God are always in agreement. Then ask yourself, does it reflect the character of God?
[00:58:02] You know, the God who spoke from the burning bush was holy and compassionate and faithful and true to his promises. And he revealed himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God who keeps
[00:58:17] his word through the generations. So any leading that you may be feeling from God, if it produces pride or division or self-exaltation well in all likelihood it doesn't come from God if it promotes your agenda instead of God's it's probably not from God because what God's leading us to do is
[00:58:43] not going to contradict the character of God ask yourself is it confirmed by multiple means I mean is is what I'm feeling led to do is it consistent with scripture do the circumstances around it do
[00:58:57] they seem to affirm this when i get the counsel from the church body am i feeling that that i'm getting green lights and yes proceed from mature believers you've got to be careful of isolated
[00:59:11] impressions that nobody else confirms that scripture doesn't support listen if it's really from god it will hold up to scrutiny and prayer and time now ask yourself does it lead toward obedience and dependence on God instead of self. Every objection that Moses raised was
[00:59:36] met by God with some form of, I will be with you. Whatever Moses said, God said, I'll be with you. You see, God's call is never really about our adequacy. It's about his presence it's about him not us and any genuine word from the Lord is going to cause us to trust
[01:00:05] him deeply not to build our own platform or to prove ourselves when God speaks he is revealing himself his purposes his ways not just merely information he's calling us into obedience and that really brings us to the fourth question how should we respond when we sense God is
[01:00:31] speaking well if you look at the progression here of Moses on that day the first thing you see is that he noticed he noticed a bush that was on fire then it says he turned aside and then we see
[01:00:51] that he responded with reverence right and humility he said here am I took off his shoes he listened he had questions and so in humility he brought his questions and his fears quite frankly to God
[01:01:10] and God answered every one of them by saying I'll I'll handle it I'll provide and then we see ultimately that Moses obeyed and he went and I think our response should be similar the first
[01:01:28] thing we need to do is just slow down and be willing to turn aside when God gets our attention listen to what God is saying be careful of living such a busy life that we blow right past the
[01:01:50] burning bush moments that God has. God is always at work around us, and he invites us into what he's doing. What an honor and a privilege it is that God would invite us to be a part of what
[01:02:05] he's doing. So be careful of the busyness of life. Create some margin. Put down the phone.
[01:02:14] turn off the tv slow down second approach God with reverence and humility God said take off your sandals for the place where you're standing is holy ground don't be too casual with God remember that God is God and he is holy we live in a society that just gets too casual with God
[01:02:42] if I can just say it we refer to him as the man upstairs or the big guy can I just tell you to take that out of your vocabulary. He is so much more than the big guy or the man upstairs. He is
[01:02:54] God Almighty. Don't be so casual. When God is speaking in humility, with reverence, listen.
[01:03:05] Follow the example of Moses. The very first act of obedience that Moses had from God was to take off his shoes it may be that the most important thing for you to do when you hear from God is
[01:03:22] something as simple as take off your shoes God looks to see if you obey third like Moses bring your honest questions and fears to him God can handle it when you ask questions when you say oh
[01:03:40] you know Moses like oh who am I you know I mean like I've been out here in the I'm 80 years old I'm out here in the desert I'm like I'm done who am I there's certainly somebody better than me to
[01:03:53] be the deliverer of the children of Israel then go talk to Pharaoh there's got to be somebody better than me God said no you're the one well you know they're not gonna believe me I love the fact that
[01:04:06] Moses just told God hey this is what's in my heart this is how I'm feeling Moses told God I'm not eloquent I'm not a good speaker and I love the fact that God answered him with patience
[01:04:28] but ultimately God said I'll be with you I'll provide everything you need I'll take care of everything number four you just need to obey the light you have you just need to be willing to do
[01:04:51] what I tell you to do next clarity often comes in the act of obedience not before it Moses did not receive the full plan in the first sentence God did not say Moses here's what we're
[01:05:08] going to do and then lay out a five-year plan. And by the way, wait till you get to the Red Sea.
[01:05:15] You're going to love that. You know, there was none of that. He gave him the next step.
[01:05:22] And often in life, that's all God gives us is the next step. We want plans. We want maps.
[01:05:31] We want calendars. We want points, right? I mean, that's the way we're wired. We want a strategic plan with mile markers and a dashboard and all this kind of stuff. And God's like, you ain't
[01:05:42] getting that. You're not getting that. Here's what you get. Here's the next step. Do you trust me enough to take the next step? Because that leads us to our final thought today. And that is the
[01:05:56] fact that God calls us into dependence on his presence, not our adequacy. Blackaby in his study called this the crisis of belief the crisis of belief that requires both faith and action I've heard God I know what he said I know what he wants me to do now it's a crisis of belief
[01:06:26] will I believe and will I obey will I take this step will I follow and let me tell you why many times we hesitate because when God calls us to do something it requires major life adjustments
[01:06:49] right if it was easy no problem but when God calls us and speaks to us oftentimes it requires us to make adjustments in our life and that's where we get wishy-washy because we're not sure we want to
[01:07:08] make these major adjustments in life but that's what's required if we're going to obey God Moses felt inadequate Moses gave excuses Moses made a case for why there would be somebody better than him and I love the fact that God did not give him a pep talk God did not say oh you're a good
[01:07:37] speaker you're fine you know I've heard a lot of people and you're you're one of the better ones you know you're a good leader you're a good guy I've got all the faith in you you can do it if
[01:07:46] you just believe you can do it there was none of this pep talk in there he never talked him out of his inadequacy what'd he do I think he just said yeah yeah yeah you can't do it without me but I
[01:08:04] will be with you and if I'm with you you have nothing to worry about the God who met Moses at the burning bush is the same God who came near us through the person of Jesus Christ
[01:08:23] Jesus is the ultimate I am when Jesus stood before his accusers he said before Abraham was I am and Jesus was going right back to the story that we just read right here right back
[01:08:39] to God's encounter with Moses so right here at this at this burning bush moment God was already looking forward to a cross, to a grave, and to an empty tomb.
[01:08:53] It was already in the works.
[01:08:58] And the God who called a reluctant shepherd to deliver a nation still calls ordinary people like you and me into his plan and his work.
[01:09:14] So I wonder this morning, where might God be trying to get your attention?
[01:09:21] do you have blinders on are you listening are your eyes open are you looking are you looking for the burning bush moments in your life are you paying attention are you open to it maybe you've been hurrying past it maybe you didn't even realize that God was at work around
[01:09:47] you maybe you didn't even realize that God still calls people to join him in what he's doing here's my question to you when God speaks to you the next time a burning bush moment happens in your life
[01:09:58] will you turn aside will you just turn to God and say here I am in humility will you take off your shoes recognizing that you're in holy ground when God is speaking and say God here I am what
[01:10:18] would you like me to do because I believe that God is still speaking and that he is still inviting people like you and me to join him in the work that he is doing in this day in this age
[01:10:36] you see the burning bush was never really about the bush it was about a holy god who pursues a real relationship with his people and then invites them to join him in his purposes and the reality
[01:10:53] is, I believe that invitation is still open today. So friends, don't let this just be a sign that you drive right on by. Open your eyes, look, listen, and respond in faith. Let's pray.
[01:11:16] Heavenly Father, we marvel that you would invite people like us, sinful people like us, to join you in what you're doing. God, like Moses, we're unworthy, we're inadequate, but the fact that you would call us to be a part of what you're doing God so exciting God I pray
[01:11:43] that you would speak to hearts today whether it's in this room or those who are joining us online Lord there may be some this morning that God there's been a sign there's been a burning bush
[01:11:54] moment in their life that's just glaring but they just haven't turned they haven't stepped forward they haven't said here I am God and I pray that today would be that day God I pray that everything
[01:12:10] we do would bring glory and honor to you thank you that you give us your word in the indwelling presence of your holy spirit to guide us that we have the confirmation of our church family that
[01:12:19] will listen in and earnestly pray and consider because god you are still speaking today so god may we hear may we trust and may we obey father we love you this morning we praise you in jesus
[01:12:38] name and all god's people said amen and amen let's stand as we sing our final song this morning