Don't Miss God for the Burning Bush

Exodus 3:3 - "And Moses said 'I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.'"

What a stunning phenomenon - a burning bush that was not consumed! It was miraculous; and it fascinated Moses to the point of total abandonment of all present concerns for the "meaning of the miracle".

Once, however, he forsook all to be satisfied with this revelation, God began to speak to him out of the miracle; and from then on, there is nothing more said about the burning bush. Suddenly, there was something more to the miracle than just the miracle itself...for it was really just a vehicle for an audience with God!

Throughout the Bible, and even in modern-day experience, God has "traveled" in the unusual manifestations of the Holy Ghost. Yet it has been and still is essential that we not become so mesmerized with the manifestation that we miss the "Divine Passenger" and His greater purpose!

I Samuel 10:6 - "And the Spirit of the Lord will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man."

The ultimate conclusion for Saul in the experience of this verse was not the ecstasy of being in the Spirit or even the prophecy that came from his lips but rather the transformation of his life.

As well, in Acts 9:4, Paul supernaturally came into the presence of the risen Christ and consequently fell to the ground. Just laying there in that presence must have been surreal; yet tucked within the experience was an encounter...and though the experience "floored" him, the encounter "remade" him and redesigned his life's theme into "Lord, what will you have me do" (verse 6)!

However, as there are many today who miss the transformational encounter for the sensational experience, there are sadly many more who miss BOTH...who believe that God doesn't ride in such vehicles anymore! To them, our sermon title would not be "Don't Miss God for the Burning Bush" - it would rather be "Don't Miss the Burning Bush for the Sheep", as sheep-tending was very NORMAL and certainly very UNSENSATIONAL in Moses' days!

Not only should we seek out the encounter in the experience; but we should also "turn aside" from our religious "normalcy" and embrace that unusual and peculiar side of a miraculous, unconventional and extra-ordinary God!

Selah