Ron Dunn Podcast - Meeting God In Unexpected Places

Episode Date: March 27, 2019

From the sermon series on Exodus

Well, it's good to see you. Glad to be here. Glad to be anywhere, as a matter of fact. Kay and I got in about 5.30 yesterday evening and got checked in and I was able to get out of my grungy jeans and everything and get and glad for the Lord's mercy, and had a little mishap along the way, which kind of woke me up a good little bit, and delayed us, and that's why we were so late getting in. But anyway, glad to be here, glad you're here. I want you to open your Bibles this morning to the Old Testament, the book of Exodus chapter 3. We're going to begin by reading six verses from Exodus chapter 3, the first six verses, and we'll

be reading some verses out of chapter 4. But I want us to begin chapter 3, the first six verses of the book of Exodus, a very familiar story to all of us, to most of us, one of the great events in the history of God's working with his people. 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 desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 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. So Moses thought, I will go over and see 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 I am. Do not come any closer, God said. Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. 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. I wonder if you've ever felt that maybe God has forgotten where you are. Have you ever had the feeling that perhaps God had forgotten all about you?

I have a suspicion that maybe that's the way Moses must have felt. It is ironic that this chapter opens with the words that Moses was tending his father-in-law's sheep in the backside of the desert. Freely translated, that's the boondocks of the desert. Oh my goodness. What happened to that young man of promise? What happened to that young man with high and lofty ambitions? What happened to that man

who was so thoroughly trained and prepared for great things? Raised in Pharaoh's palace, educated in the finest of institutions, a man destined for greatness. And here he is in the backside of the desert, tending sheep. What happened? He did what he thought was right.

You know the story he saw to one day an Egyptian abusing a fellow Hebrew, and so he slew that Egyptian, buried him in the sand. And then one day he saw two Hebrews fighting, and he tried to intervene between them, and they said, oh, are you going to do to us what you did to that Egyptian? Who made you a prince over us? Who made you a prince over us? Who made you our boss? And Moses discovered that his murder was found out and so he fled. And here he is.

Forty years. Forty years. My goodness. All that promise. All that expectation. All that enthusiasm, and here he is, forgotten. I wonder if you've ever felt that way. I wonder if you might feel like the men in our church must have felt a few years ago when after giving 20 and 25 years of faithful, loyal service to a company,

the company suddenly one day said, you're through. We're downsizing. We're keeping only the younger men. And you wonder, what happened to all those years of faithful, loyal work and service. And in the midst of it all, I was serving God, and now here I am. Has God just forgotten about me?

Maybe you're a woman who married her knight in shining armor to find out that she was not a knight and did not own shining armor and we've been living for years now in an abusive relationship. And you wonder, has God forgotten where I am? You know, I've talked to preachers

and ministers who've asked that question, who've wondered that. They surrendered to the ministry with such high expectations and they went through all the training and now here they are out in the backside of some lonely desert and nobody knows them and they seem to be forgotten, not only by God God but by friends. I think sometimes single parents, especially

a single mother who's trying maybe to raise children and work and wonder what's happened to my life? What happened to all the promise? What happened to all of the prospects?

Has God forgotten me? Well, I want to talk to you this morning on meeting God in unexpected places and at unexpected times. I think when Moses got up that morning to go through the same old, and I don't know, I'll be honest with you, I've never tended sheep.

You know, I'm not a shepherd. I can't put that on my resume. I spent five years being a shepherd. It seems to me like a dull job. I mean, it seems to me like a boring, dull job following a bunch of dumb sheep around for 40 years. And I just somehow imagine that when Moses woke up that morning, he had no expectations of anything being any different.

And he got his staff and went out there and trudging along. What does a man think about? I mean, what is there left to think about after 40 years of that? I mean, you know. He must know that desert like the back of his hand. Oh, goodness, how boring.

The day is filled with not expectation. Mind to think of a good reason to even get up. I think the last thing that Moses was expecting that day was to see a burning bush. Of course, that must have been a joy. I mean, you know, you look for anything, wouldn't you, to relieve the boredom? I mean, you know. So here he is walking along, going through his daily boring rigmarole, and all of a sudden he sees this bush.

I imagine he knew that bush. He'd probably passed that bush every day for 40 years. But he looked at it and my goodness, it was on fire. Now some have tried to explain that away by saying it was just the way the sun was getting it, but you know there are always people who try to explain away godly things. No, the bush was on fire. Moses was a veteran out there. He wouldn't be fooled by an apparition. This thing was on fire. And he turned aside to see.

And when he turned aside, suddenly a voice spoke to him and said, Moses! Moses! Good night. That's the first time anybody's called his name in a long time. And he says, here I am. God said, take your shoes off. Don't come any closer

before you're standing on holy ground. And then he identified himself. I am the God of your father. He met God. And his whole life was changed. And he discovered that the 40 years when he thought God. And his whole life was changed. And he discovered that the 40 years when he thought God had forgotten him, that God had not forgotten him,

that God all along knew right where he was. I think one of the most encouraging things to me about this story and other stories similar to this in the Bible is that no matter how much I may have failed or feel a failure is that no matter how much I may have failed or feel a failure and no matter how much my enthusiasm may have drained away

because of the boredom of life or because of the twists and the fates of life, God knows where I am and has not forgotten me. And I could meet Him and he could meet me in an experience that would transform my life at any moment. Now I think for us to qualify for this kind of an encounter, there are certain things that need to be true. First of all, I think that in order for us at any moment to meet God, any moment for God to come and save us out of our drudgery, deliver us from our meaninglessness, I think there has to be a certain,

and I'm not sure what is the best way to say this, but there has to be a willingness to see the supernatural in the natural. There has to be a certain curiosity of life, a certain sensitivity to things that you don't expect. I think you have to be willing to see the extraordinary in the ordinary, to see the divine in the daily.

I came up with a phrase a while back. I'm going to try to say it. I have a hard time. I'm like Moses. We're going to get to that in a moment. Moses said, I have a hard time. I'm like Moses. We're going to get to that in a moment. Moses said, I have a hard time speaking. And those of you that have heard me a lot know that I sometimes don't get these words just right.

But I'm going to try and take a stab at it. I've practiced. I really have. And I'm going to try to hit it the first time. But it's a phrase that, you know, in trying to express what I feel and trying to express what I feel, in trying to express what I'm trying to say, I came up with this phrase.

Terminological rigidity. I believe I got it the first time. Honey, did I? Yeah, that's great. Of course, I practiced. Terminological, I'm pushing the envelope, I know. Terminological rigidity. Now, what do I mean by that?

Well, what happens is that we come up with a definition of something, or certain terminology, and every definition, all terminology has limits, boundaries to it. So that if we define something, then we commit ourselves to that definition and we're so rigid that if anything happens outside that definition,

then we ignore that it has happened or we deny that it has happened. You understand what I'm getting at? We say it has to fit within this definition. It has to fit within our preconceived notion of what it is or it's not real. Now, I think when it comes to this idea of worshiping God, of meeting God, of experiencing God, that many of us, if not most of us, believe that these encounters have to come within the four walls of a church. And more than likely have to occur at some worship service.

I mean, there's got to be a choir there, no doubt about it. You've got to have good music. And there has to be somebody officiating official, you know, sort of like a preacher or somebody. And within the strictures of that, then that's when you're going to hear God. That's when you're going to meet God. And if it doesn't happen there, I mean, well, you know. The rest of the week is all secular. The rest of the week is just all run-of-the-mill if you're going to meet God. I mean, it's going to be here.

And so we discount everything outside here. You know, I've always been intrigued by the fact that when those two men were on the road to Emmaus and Jesus joined them and they didn't recognize who he was at all. And they had a lively conversation and their hearts began to catch fire. And when they got to their house, they bid this stranger to come in and break bread with them.

And so he did. And you know, when they saw Jesus, when they recognized who He was, it was when He was simply breaking the bread. It wasn't when He was feeding 5,000. It wasn't when He was raising Lazarus from the grave. It wasn't when He was healing the ten lepers. It was in just a normal routine of a daily life.

It was just when he broke the bread. They saw him. In that ordinary, dull, mundane experience. They saw, this is Jesus. I'm going to confess to you this morning that I've had some great encounters with God in church services. I really

have. But I believe that the greatest and the most life changing encounters I've had with God have been outside the four walls of a building. And have usually been when I'm alone and when I feel like, you know, the last thing, listen, the last thing I was expecting was for God to break into my life.

The reason I say I believe that it requires a certain curiosity, a certain sensitivity, a certain willingness and openness to see these things, is that if you read carefully the text, it says that when God saw Moses turn aside, then He spoke to him. I have an idea that if Moses caught a glimpse of that burning bush

and he said, well, how about that? But he said, I'm busy. I've got my job to do. I don't have time. And I've just got to keep on my schedule. And I've got too many things to take care of. I don't have time. I don't think God would have called after him. I don't think God would have called after him.

I don't think God would have chased after him. But when he saw Moses turn aside, when Moses took the time, when Moses failed to be preoccupied with the mundane affairs of life, and suddenly in the midst of that daily routine, there was a burning bush. and suddenly in the midst of that daily routine, there was a burning bush.

There was something that captured his attention, something that drew him and he yielded to that drawing. Now you say, well preacher, I don't know that I've ever seen a burning bush. No, I haven't seen a burning bush either, but I have a burning bush within me as you do and it's called the Holy Spirit. You mean to tell me that you've never experienced

those times when suddenly there was a burning in your spirit for something more? I don't know. It's indescribable and undefinable, but there was a longing, there was an aching, there was something, but you're too busy.

You're too preoccupied. Check it out. I think that we have missed many a burning bush because of our preconceived ideas and our too busy schedules. As a matter of fact, I have an idea we ought to always go around barefooted. And I'm not going to do what one preacher did.

I was in one service and the preacher asked us to literally take off our shoes. I mean literally take them off. I didn't mind the smell, but it burned my eyes terribly. I'm not going to ask you to do that, but you know there is a sense in which we ought always to walk barefoot

because we're always walking on holy ground in God's presence. And in the most unexpected ways. And the most unexpected times, folks. God may be speaking to you. And may be calling to you. And you may have an encounter with him. But you've got to be sensitive enough.

To respond to that burning of sin. And open to believe that God can speak to you supernaturally out of the absolute natural and mundane of our lives. You know, most of us don't live brilliantly exciting lives. Most of us just live normal lives. Your life is just normal enough not to ever have a movie made about it. And that's the way most of us are. God meets us. I'll tell you something else that really blessed me about this. That God, He meets us in a very personal way.

You know? He meets us in a very personal way. I mean, even though we are a congregation this morning, yet God, when He meets us and we encounter Him, it is in a personal way. Of course, it's personal because He called Him by name. He said, Moses, by name. He said, Moses, Moses. And he said, here I am. But you know, as I read, there was something else that

struck me. And I don't think that in all my times of reading this story, it has ever struck me like this before. He says in verse five, God is going to identify himself. He says, do not come any closer. God said, take off your sandals for the place where you're standing is holy ground. Then he said, I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Now, we're accustomed to him saying, I am the God of your fathers, meaning Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. But notice that's not what God says. I think Moses here needs a real personal touch. I mean, after all, he's been out of circulation for 40 years.

So he says, I am the God of your father, your dad. Then he says, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Now, I wonder why he said, I am the God of your father. I believe it is because Moses needed that personal touch at that moment. You know, my dad died in 1990. It's an interesting thing. It's an interesting thing. It's a strange thing. That every once in a while,

usually when I'm in Oklahoma or Arkansas, I'll meet somebody, older gentleman that'll come up and say, you know, I knew your dad. And your dad and I were good friends. And I knew you when you were just a little boy. Now, you say, preacher, what does that mean? I don't know. But it touches me. The minute this man says, I knew your father, I knew your dad. He was a good man. I knew you when you were a boy.

I don't know. Suddenly there is an intimate connection built between that stranger and myself that suddenly makes me want to listen and learn more of what he knew about my father. I don't know when Moses is here banished to the backside, out there frustrated and utter failure.

Somehow or another, God saying to Moses, Moses, you may have forgotten me, but I'm the God that your dad served, that your father moved. And that's when Moses hit his face. So I think, first of all, for us to have these encounters in unexpected places,

there must be that certain willingness to see the supernatural in unexpected places. There must be that certain willingness to see the supernatural in the natural. To believe that God can divinely speak in the daily routine. But I believe there's something else that is required. I think there has to be a certain reverence and respect for God's character and for who God is. You see, God said, Moses, don't come any closer.

It's one thing to be curious, but don't get too familiar. I may be the God of your father, but that doesn't mean that you can rush into my presence with your shoes on. That's a caution for all of us. He says, yeah, Moses, I know you and I'm calling you by name, but don't get carried away. There is still a difference between us. I am the infinite and you are the finite. I am the creator and you're the creature. I am the creator and you're the creature. Take your shoes off. And Moses hid his face for he was afraid to look upon God. A certain reverence and respect and awe

for God's character. I'm afraid that is something greatly missing in our generation. I think in our attempts, perhaps in worship and in other ways, our attempts to become more personal with God, and this is the emphasis nowadays, is for our worship to be more personal, and I believe that with all of my heart.

But we need to understand there is a difference between being personal or being intimate and being familiar. You still don't treat God in a casual, cavalier, familiar way. It still has to be that awesomeness. You know, he hid his face because he was afraid.

And of course, you know this. You've been told this a dozen times that when the Old Testament talks about fearing the Lord, it's not talking about being scared of the dark or something like that. It means that you have a certain awe and reverence and respect for God. That's the idea.

So boy, you're careful where you walk and you're careful how you walk. It's that kind of unawareness. You know, Moses didn't jump up and down and go whoop and everything like that. When God spoke to him, he hid his face. It's like John on the Isle of Patmos. There he was, another man who could well have thought that God had forgotten him. God didn't know where he was. He was exiled on the Isle of Patmos.

What happened to all my years of faithful service? Has God forgotten all about me? I'm in exile now, forgotten about. And suddenly Jesus, the resurrected, glorified Lord, appears to him. And what does John do? Does he strike up the band? No, he falls on his feet.

Falls on his face as though he were dead. When Peter was out fishing, you remember, and they weren't catching any fish, and Jesus said, why don't you try casting on the other side? Now there's nothing worse than a fisherman hates than to have a non-fisherman giving advice on how to fish.

Now here was a carpenter's son, and he's on the shore. How long have you been fishing? All night. Caught anything? No. Don't ask that question. If I'd wanted you to know,

I'd have told you without you having to ask. No, I hadn't caught anything. He said, well, why don't you try on the other side? And Peter did. And he brought in this huge net of fishes. And what did Peter do? He ran to shore and he said, let's give three cheers for Jesus.

No, he fell on his feet and said, oh, depart from me, oh God, I am a sinful man. Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that you and I are always to be super serious and solemn in the presence of God in our worship. I'm not saying that at all. But you understand, I think what I'm getting at is that

if you and I are to meet God and have an encounter with God, if God is to speak to us, I believe there has to be in our hearts and in our lives a quality of respect and reverence and awe of God. The ground was not holy because the bush was burning. The ground was holy because God was there. Well, let me hurry and finish. I think first of all there must be this sensitive spirit, this willingness to see the supernatural in the natural.

Be willing to hear God speak out of a bush. Secondly, I think there is required of us a certain reverence and respect for God. And the third thing I think that this story tells us is that all such encounters with God result in a certain responsibility in God's cause. You don't meet God just for the sake of meeting God. It doesn't end there.

You'll notice it says that in the 10th verse of chapter 3, So now go, I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring My people, the Israelites, out of Egypt. In other words, God says there is a purpose behind this. There is a mission behind this. There is a mission behind this.

There is something that you are to do. And he goes on and details farther in the chapter. And then in chapter 4, exactly what Moses is to do and what he is to say. And he says, and you will serve God in this mountain. In other words, he is saying, Moses, I am meeting you and we are having this encounter. Not just to make you feel good and not just to make you feel warm and fuzzy, but there is something that I have for you. Now folks, I want to tell you something.

Moses has been missing for 40 years. He had given up on any expectations of doing anything. Let's face it, his best days were gone. He was no longer a young man. He's 80 years old now. I want to tell you something, folks. God has something He wants you to do. There is a place where you fit

in the community of Christ, in the body of Christ, and God has destined it and you are not going to escape it and He's not going to forget it. And you can make all the excuses you want to make, as Moses did. But you see, the Bible says in Ephesians 2 and 10, that God created me unto good works, which He hath before preordained that I should walk in them. In other words, long before I was born

in eternity past, God already knew what I was to do. He had a place picked out for me. And success in life is not making a lot of money or the other things by which we measure success, but it is finding out what you were created to do and doing it. That's success.

And God's not going to let you escape if He, as the Scripture says, has preordained you for good works. You're going to walk in them. I like this, Moses making all of these excuses, you know. But the thing of it is, I think I need to put out forward is that Moses more than likely put his shoes back on after this experience.

Why? Well, because there was something to do. There were places to go and things to do. And he went back to his father-in-law and he said, I'm quitting and I'm going back to Egypt and I'm going to lead my people out of Egypt. I mean, what I would probably have done is that, I would probably have stayed right there by the burning bush and started a church called the Burning Bush Fellowship.

He said, everybody come to Toronto. I mean, everybody come by the burning bush and started a church called the Burning Bush Fellowship. He said, everybody come to Toronto. I mean, everybody come to the burning bush. And this is where God is, right here. That's probably what I would have done. No, he left that place. I mean, burning bushes serve their purpose, folks, but you don't make holy places out of them. And he took off.

But he made these excuses. I want to just take a glance at these excuses. They're familiar to us, but to me it's funny. I think a screenwriter or a playwriter or something could make a hilarious comedy out of this. He says in verse 10, So now go, I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt. But Moses said to God, Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?

Now I tell you what, this man has lost a lot of his ambition. He's lost a lot of his pride. You know, it may be that God needed to consign Moses to the backside of the desert to kind of temper him down just a little bit. I mean, here is a man who resorted to violence. Here is a man who was quick-tempered, and he said, I'm going to do the work of God, and I'm going to do it this way. And he was wildly enthusiastic and impetuous and slew that Egyptian, maybe what he needed was 40 years in the backside of the desert

to kind of calm down. You remember when Jesus had breakfast with Jesus? John 21? You know, oh, well, of course, Peter's not going to take the natural route. He sees Jesus on the shore. He's not about to wait for the boat. He just leaps off the boat and swims.

That's just Peter, you know. But Jesus doesn't question him right then. Have you noticed? They sit down and eat breakfast. I think he's giving old Simon a chance to kind of calm down. Calm down, Peter, now. I've got some things I want to say to you,

and you're just going to have to kind of calm down a little bit, Simon. Let's eat, and then we'll take a stroll. And then I want to ask if you love me. You know, maybe the reason God has consigned some of us to our deserts is because we just needed time to cool off, calm down, be tempered, become mature.

The interesting thing is every time Moses makes an excuse, God answers it. There is no excuse. He's making excuse after excuse and God keeps coming up with it. But let's just look at chapter 4 and verse 10 for a minute. This is his last excuse really. Moses said to the Lord, O Lord, I have never been eloquent,

neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. He's saying, God, I've never been eloquent and nothing has changed since you've been talking to me these past 10 minutes. He said, I'm not eloquent. He said, I am slow of speech and tongue. I'm like that Dunn preacher that's going to come along. I stammer and I can't say things well. I'm just not a talker. I mean, you know, I'm just not a talker. I can't express myself and I've always had trouble. I don't know. I just can't get my tongue fixed right. And Lord, I can't speak. Now, look at verse 11. The Lord said to him, who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind?

Is it not I, the Lord? Now, I don't think I'm going to go any farther with that. Boy, that's a pretty bold statement, isn't it? You say, Preacher, you're saying that God makes people deaf and God makes people dumb and God makes people blind. I don't know. I'm just reading what it says there. Basically, what it's saying to me is that God not only knows where I am, He knows what I am. He knows my imperfections. He knows my inabilities. He knows my inadequacies. And every excuse I bring to God why I can't do this, God meets it. Now, here is the thing, though, that captivates me about this particular incident.

The Lord admits that Moses is slow of speech. And maybe he has a stammering, maybe some speech impediment. Moses, God admits that. He doesn't say, oh, now, Moses, you're just making an excuse. God admits that. He said, but now go in verse 12, I will help you speak and will teach you what to say. And Moses said, oh Lord, please send somebody else to do it. Now we're getting to the truth. All those excuses basically boil down to us. Lord,

just let somebody else do it. He said, not going to do it. He said, I foreordained you and you're in my grasp. I've captured you in my net and I'm going to not let you go. And so the Lord got angry. The anger, Lord's anger burned against Moses. And he said, okay, you are slow of speech and you are tongue tied, but what about your brother Aaron? I know he can speak well and he's already on his way to meet you. And both of you are going to be happy when you get together. I will give you the words that you will speak to Him, and He shall speak for you. Now, you see, the thing of it is,

God did not heal Moses' problem. He did not solve or take away Moses' speech impediment, which is what I would expect Him to do, which is what you and I would expect God to do. Lord, if you want me to do something, Lord, if you have something for me, then God, you're going to have to change me. You're going to have to give me new gifts. You're going to have to give me new abilities. You're going to have to take away these inadequacies. He said, no, he said, no, I'm not going to do it. Don't need to know that. I know what you are. I made you like you are, but I've got something over here that will compensate for your lack.

Everybody lacks. Nobody has everything. Nobody has every gift. Nobody can do everything. Everybody lacks. Everybody has certain deficiencies. What does God expect from me? Don't worry.

Aaron right now is on his way. You thought not only I'd forgotten about you, but you thought your brother'd forgotten about you. You know, people haven't forgotten about you even though you think they are. And Aaron's on his way right now. And you all are going to get together. You see, whatever lack I have, whatever inadequacy I have,

that's no excuse. God compensates for that there's an Aaron for every Moses see well I guess to sum up what I'm trying to say I best sum it up in these words

God meets us just where we are. Moses did not have to get out of the desert and get back in the palace before God spoke to him. God spoke to him right where he was. We fancy sometimes that if we get everything in our lives straightened out and get everything back to where it ought to be, then God will speak to us. No, God speaks to us right where we are. He speaks to us in the desert.

He speaks to the prodigal son in the pig pit. That's why we sing that song, Just as I am, I come. God meets you right where you are. But you've got to have a certain curiosity and sensibility and sensitivity. Maybe not here within the four walls of this church,

but maybe tomorrow on your dull job. God may throw a burning bush and he may speak to me. It is managed and operated by Sherwood Baptist Church. If you would like to listen to additional Ron Dunn messages, visit sherwoodbaptist.net slash bookstore and search Ron Dunn. For more Ron Dunn materials, including sermon outlines, devotions, and scanned pages from a study Bible, please visit rondunn.com.