THE BURNING TREE EXPERIENCE – Pt 5

Exodus 3:1-5 “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. 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. And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. 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. And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.”

The more I study God’s Word and meditate on His person and plan, the more I am thankful for His sovereignty. My wife and I were discussing this at our devotion time today. Since my eyes have gotten bad, she reads and I listen. We are reading a chapter a day from Charles Swindoll’s book, “A Man Of Compassion And Destiny.” This book on the life of David reminds us that God called David when he was about 12 or 13 years of age. He was anointed to be the next king of God’s people, but it was about 25 years before he was actually in that position. Some might have thought that it was not going to happen, but God is Sovereign and His plan would be fulfilled. We can all count on it.

In earlier CHALLENING CONCEPTS we have noted the SCRIPTURAL, SOVEREIGN and SELECTIVE call of God. This week we will notice another part of God’s call upon a person’s life.

IV. OUR CALL IS A SINGLE ONE

Realize that Moses was now at the place where God wanted him. He was not in a crowd, with his family or a friend. Moses was alone. This is very important for us to notice because this is the place where God can intimately talk to Moses and is at the same place He wants us so that He can personally deal with us.

The majority of Christians do not like to be alone. They like to find common experiences with other believers. They like to discuss topics of like interests. This gives them a sense of family. In fact, many testify they are closer to their church family than they are their own brothers and sisters. But burning bush experiences are SINGULAR experiences. All of us are different and God has a specific purpose for each of us. He doesn’t lead everyone through the same experiences at the same time.

As a preacher of the Gospel, I realize that there are many of my messages that came out of certain experiences in my life. In fact, messages born out of experiences carry much more weight than those which come out of another person’s experiences.

But, a burning bush experience is not found in a particular message. It’s a personal conversation between God and His child. The preacher or teacher is nothing more than the conduit through which God’s message is delivered to the individual.

Every individual who has preached or taught can remember a time in which God changed their message or lesson at the last minute. They were prepared; ready and all of a sudden God led them to teach or preach another message. Many times the preacher or teacher never even knew why God changed their direction. It was possible that God had a special message for one of the hearers.

God does that. God speaks to His children and gives them direction in life. We read in Isaiah 30:21, “And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.”

The burning bush experience is not in a particular message or in the personality of a preacher or teacher. It cannot be manufactured, bottled, and sold. The burning bush experience is when a sovereign God chooses to speak in a real and personal way to one of His children.

In 1962 I had the opportunity to be the lay music director of a small church in Anniston, Alabama. It was really my first venture of this kind. I had no experience and really didn’t know exactly what to do but my young family, Grace, baby Tony and I got busy and were used of God to help that small congregation.

After a couple of years I was offered the same position in another small church but was beginning to see some rapid growth. That experience began the turning point in my life. Southside Baptist was used by God to create a thirst in my heart for something deeper in service for the Lord. The more I served, the less I enjoyed my secular job. Before long my wife and I were discussing our future. We both believed that we should consider Bible college. One day it seemed as if God was calling and I answered that call and made it public that God had something special for my family and me.

The journey has been a wonderful one. There have been mountain peaks and deep valleys. We have experienced much joy, but have had some sorrow on this pilgrimage. The journey is not over yet but it has been a wonderful life. If my wife and I, and I believe she was called as much as I, had not responded to the call of God, we would have missed seeing God’s plan come to pass.

If God is speaking to you, please make sure you are listening. The center of God’s will is the place of joy and fulfillment. If God has selected you for a special task, the journey will be a great adventure in seeing God work. Dr. Swindoll said “God’s selective call is Sovereign and Sure.”

That’s my view; how about you?