DIVINE ENCOUNTERS
THIS IS US — Message #6
Exodus 3:1-14
INTRODUCTION:
Today, I want to talk to you about the importance of ENCOUNTERING GOD. Because when we encounter God — we experience HIS POWER which transforms our lives. Taking our lives from ORDINARY TO EXTRAORDINARY!
TRANSITION:
What I’m saying is — we value DIVINE ENCOUNTERS with God! Or maybe I should say — PERSONAL ENCOUNTERS with God. Because, we believe that our faith in Christ is not really about being religious — but rather, it’s about having a close and personal relationship with Jesus. And nothing is as rewarding as knowing Him. And there’s nothing that can replace having a real encounter with the living God.
You know, one of the most famous encounters found in Scripture is when Moses met God at the burning bush.
It happened late in his life — but it was transformational. When Moses was 80 years old, after spending 40 years in an Egyptian Palace as the adopted son of Pharaoh’s daughter…he then, spent another 40 years hiding on the back side of the desert (working as an ordinary shepherd). You might remember, Moses fled Egypt because he killed an Egyptian slave master who was mistreating an Israelite slave.
Well, some 40 years later — at the age of 80, Moses had a DIVINE ENCOUNTER with God. And it was this one moment that completely changed his life.
In fact, it was this moment that empowered him to liberate God’s people from bondage. But it also set him on a new trajectory in life — one where he would come to know God, & trust Him, & serve Him for the rest of his life.
In the end, it’s the book of Deuteronomy that best describes Moses’ life by saying: ‘…no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face” (Deuteronomy 34:10, NIV).
Those are pretty impressive words! Wouldn’t you like people to say of you? That YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD WAS UNMATCHABLE!
Well it can be…but only if you’ll allow God to INVADE YOUR SPACE and take your life from being ORDINARY to being EXTRAORDINARY.
Well, Moses’ story is told in Exodus 3. So, if you have your Bible, TURN THERE WITH ME.
Beginning in verse 1, we read:
1 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.
2 There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. 3 So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”
4 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 I am.” 5 “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” 6 Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.
7 The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. 8 So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 9 And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. 10 So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”
11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” 12 And God said, “I will be with you.
I know, sometimes life doesn’t treat us that way. Sometimes those in our lives walk out on us.
It reminds me of a story about the pilot of a small plane who once took a group of people into the air…they flew for a while — and he had leveled out his plane…but then trouble came. And that plane began to sputter…and the engines quit. After coasting for just a brief time —the pilot got up. He put up the only parachute onboard. And as he opened the door and began to exit.
He turned and said…“Don’t panic. I’m just going to get some help!” And then he was gone!
Listen, sometimes life may seem like everyone’s bailing on you — But God never will!
He’s not going anywhere. He will be faithful NO MATTER WHAT! That’s his promise.
So, while you may not be able to trust in some people — you can always trust in God.
Well, Moses found that to be true.
Verse 12 continues:
12 And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.”
13 Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?” 14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’”
Exodus 3:1-14 (NIV)
What an incredible story. When I read this, I can’t help but be stirred with hope. And the reason is because this story reminds me that God is in the business of taking the ORDINARY and transforming it into something EXTRAORDINARY! He does this with everything He encounters.
And that’s why we value ENCOUNTERING GOD!
When we ENCOUNTER GOD, He changes us.
— The first change is that of our eternal destiny. But our ENCOUNTER WITH GOD at salvation is only the beginning. The Bible teaches that everyday brings with it opportunities to encounter God.
And through those DIVINE ENCOUNTERS, God is able to transform our lives.
— He can take our little and make much out of it.
— He can replace our aimlessness with a divine purpose to fulfill.
— He can transform our self-interests into kingdom pursuits…things that are far greater than us. — And, He can take our weakness and turn them into strengths.
And all of this for His glory!
So, what happens when you encounter God?
1. ORDINARY PLACES BECOME SACRED SPACES!
I want you to see that God often shows up in the midst of our every day lives…in those ordinary moments and common places of our lives.
Listen again to the way this passage begins. Moses wasn’t gathered in a temple or away at a spiritual conference or convention. He was just doing what ordinary shepherds did. He was caring for sheep.
Verse 1 says,
1 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law… 2 There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush.
Where did God show up? In the middle of his work day. In the ordinary hum-drum routine moments of his life.
God showed up on the back side of that desert and that ordinary place became a sacred space!
And that’s the thing — it doesn’t take stained glass and soft music to make a place sacred. It just takes God showing up. And this was the case again and again throughout the Bible. God showed up and ordinary places became sacred spaces where He met with His people.
Think about it:
- When Gideon first encountered God, he was hard at work…threshing grain (Judges 6),
- When Samuel encountered God, he was serving Eli (learning the trade of ministry) (1 Sam. 3),
- When David encountered God, he too was caring for sheep (17:20),
- When Elisha first encountered God, he was plowing a field getting ready to plant some seed (1 Kings 19:19–21),
- When four of the disciples encountered Jesus, they were managing their fishing business and mending their nets (Mark 1:16–20),
- And when Matthew encountered God, he was busy collecting taxes for Rome (Matt. 9:9).
I just want you to see — you don’t have to wait for Sunday morning to ENCOUNTER GOD! You can meet Him wherever you are, doing whatever you do. Because God isn’t relegated to only showing up when He’s scheduled on Sundays. He can invade and space and make it sacred.
Sometimes we expect God to only show up when it’s convenient for us. Like when we’re here to worship, or when we’re gathered around these altars to pray, or maybe when we’re meeting together in someone’s home for Small Group. And He does work at those times (in powerful ways).
Because, when we make room for Him — He comes close. But God seeks us out all the time. He’s always calling out to us, because He wants to occupy our ordinary spaces in life.
Like with Moses, God want’s to get our attention and draw us close to Him.
He wants us to experience Him in the middle of our work, in the middle of carrying for the kids, in the middle of making dinner, or mowing the yard. Because, there’s no space that God doesn’t want to fill with His presence and power.
The question is, are you willing to allow Him into those places?
Are you listening for His call?
Are you looking for God in the ordinary places of your life?
If so, then prepare for a DIVINE ENCOUNTER! Because He’s there. And know this — when you encounter God, ORDINARY PLACES BECOME SACRED SPACES!
Secondly, I want you to know…when you ENCOUNTER GOD,
2. ORDINARY ITEMS BECOME DIVINE INSTRUMENTS!
In this case, it was a desert bush. Probably one of the common brush bushes (of which there are several). Whichever it was — it was so insignificant that God didn’t tell us the particular species…only that it was a bush.
Listen again to verse 2,
2 “…the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. 3 So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”
4 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 I am.”
So God used a bush…a common, unimpressive, ordinary item found on Mt. Horeb in the desert. There was nothing special about that bush — until God’s presence appeared within it.
But…when God ignited that bush with His divine presence — His power and glory was displayed.
As it did, something remarkable happened. An ordinary item became a divine instrument.
But this wasn’t the first time — and it wouldn’t be the last time God used something ordinary to accomplish something divine.
We see this all throughout the scriptures:
Even later in this story we see God doing this.
In chapter 4, He takes Moses’ staff (a common tool used for persuading sheep) and uses it to persuade Pharaoh to release his people.
It was just a simple stick. But when it was submitted to God — it came alive. Quite literally. When Moses was struggling to trust God’s choice of him to face Pharoah — God demonstrated His power by telling Moses to throw it down. And as he did, it turned into a snake. A real live snake.
And that staff would stick with Moses for the rest of his life — sort of as a reminder that COMMON ITEMS CAN BECOME DIVINE INSTRUMENTS when given to God.
And this sort of thing happened again and again throughout the Bible.
For Samson it was the jaw-bone of a donkey that was used to slay a 1000 men in battle.
For David it was a small stone and a sling that was used by God to take out Goliath.
For a widow and her son it was a small jar of flour and a small jar of oil that continued to be supernaturally refilled again and again.
For the servants at the wedding in Cana it was the huge jars of water that miraculously changed from water to wine.
As Jesus said, even small faith — faith the size of a mustard seed can move mountains.
Listen, when you give God what you possess — He can use it in divine ways (for His glory).
So, what will it be for you?
What common thing do you possess in your life that you’re willing to surrender to God for His purposes?
Will it be you home? Maybe he’ll use it to welcome broken people in the context of a small group. Maybe through your home lost people will be saved, and hurting people will find help, and discouraged people will find hope.
Or will it be your pen? Maybe God would use your hands and your pen to express encouraging words to those in your life. Maybe he’d give you the platform to write notes or cards of blessing to send to those who need to be reminded that they are loved and not forgotten.
Or will it be your kitchen? Maybe God would use you and your kitchen to prepare meals for those who need them most. Maybe you could bake cookies for our children’s ministries. Or maybe you could bake cakes for the birthday’s of our senior adults (who feel overlooked and need to be reminded that someone loves them). Or maybe you could prepare a meal for those who have recently been hospitalized, or have a new baby, or have lost a job?
Or maybe it will be your money? Your resources? Your wealth that you submit into God’s hands to use for some divine purpose? Maybe when you throw it down (the way Moses did) God will make it come alive for a purpose BIGGER than you could imagine.
Maybe it could be a portion of your estate? Do you know twice in our history we’ve had someone pass away who left a tithe from the sale of their estate to our church. Neither were incredible significant — but both came at just the right time to make a difference in our efforts to reach people and start new ministries.
You know, that inspired Lori and me, and so — several years ago we rewrote our will doing the same thing. We just thought, if God calls us home — maybe our little can go on to become much for His Kingdom purposes.
Who knows, maybe God could use your resources to support a missionary or support the efforts of relief fund when tragedy hits.
Whatever it may be — I just want to remind you that COMMON ITEMS can become DIVINE INSTRUMENTS when they are surrendered into God’s hands.
So, loosen your grip — and don’t hold so tightly to the things in your hands. Instead, give them to God and see what He might do with them. Because, when you encounter God, ORDINARY PLACES BECOME SACRED SPACES! And COMMON ITEMS BECOME DIVINE INSTRUMENTS!
And, when you encounter God:
3. ORDINARY PEOPLE ACCOMPLISH EXTRAORDINARY PURPOSES!
This story is one of an ordinary man being used to accomplish God’s extraordinary purpose. Because of Moses’ encounter with God — He went on to lead God’s people out of bondage.
But He’s not the only God’s ever used. The Bible is filled with stories like this. Stories of God using ORDINARY people to do EXTRAORDINARY things. God loves to take nobodies and makes them somebody by His grace.
He loves to take the insignificant and overlooked and use them to change the world.
Think about it:
- Moses stuttered and was insecure.
- David was the youngest in his family and small in stature.
- The woman at the well was considered damaged goods.
- Peter was weak and had a history of personal failure.
- And on and on the stories go — people without the credentials or chops to lead…and yet God used them in extraordinary ways.
Do you ever feel insignificant, flawed, weak, under-qualified, or just damaged goods? If so, you’re in good company, because that’s just the kind of people God likes to use. As Paul writes in 1 Corinthians:
“God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. As a result, no one can ever boast, in the presence of God.”
1 Corinthians 1:27-29 (NLT)
Or maybe you need to remember that it’s not what you’ve done that qualifies — rather it’s God’s presence within you.
As 1 Samuel 16:7 says,
“The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, the Lord looks at the heart.”
1 Samuel 16:7 (NIV)
And maybe that’s really the question you need to consider today. How’s your heart?
Are you interested in the things that God’s interested in?
Have you fully surrendered your heart to Him?
If so, that get ready — because He may be getting ready to use you in extraordinary ways. Get ready, and be on the look out. Keep your eyes open and your heart willing to trust Him and obey.
Because your next GOD ENCOUNTER may be just around the corner.
CONCLUSION:
As we close today — I want to remind you of the promise that God gave Moses in verse 12…because it’s the same promise He makes to you today. If you’ll welcome His presence in your life — if you’re willing to ENCOUNTER HIM, then know this: HE WILL BE WITH YOU!
So, what are you waiting for?
Isn’t it time for another DIVINE ENCOUNTER WITH GOD?