going to ask you to take your
Bibles and turn with me to the book of Exodus. Exodus chapter 3. Exodus 3. Very familiar passage of scripture. But a passage of scripture that
my heart was drawn to, I'd like to just look at the first
six verses of this third chapter. 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 they 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. Moreover,
he said, I am the God of thy father. the God of Abraham, the
God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face,
for he was afraid to look upon God. Now, this passage of scripture
opens with an amazing revelation. The scripture says, 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." That's amazing to me. Moses had known the luxury of
Egypt. He was taken as an infant out
of the water and brought into the court, the palace of Pharaoh. And he was taught in the courts
of extravagance and pleasure and he's catered to and respected But God mercifully brought this
vessel of his grace to this very spot. You know, whenever the Lord's
pleased to draw one of his own unto himself, they're brought
down. Man, by nature, is proud. He's arrogant. We're all like
that. And they're made to see something
of themselves. Every object of God's mercy needs
to be brought down. We are nothing. We're frail creatures
of dust. And we think ourselves to be
something. When the scripture says we're
nothing, we're nothing. Moses was delivered from the
palace of Egypt in the prime of his life to become an elderly
shepherd. A shepherd that was employed
by his father-in-law. Acts 7.23 said that when he was
full 40 years old, it came to his heart to visit his brother
and the children of Israel. And then after leaving Egypt,
this record of Moses is given in verse 29 of Acts 7, it says,
he was a stranger in the land of Midian, which is Midian, where
he begat two sons. And then the scripture reveals
in Acts 7 verse 30, when 40 years were expired, there appeared
to him in the midst of Mount Sinai, An angel of the Lord in
a flame of fire in a bush. He was 40 years old when he left
Egypt. And God left him in the wilderness
for 40 years. He was 80 years old. 80 years old. That's old. 40 years. Now that might be thought
to be long time to the world, and really to the world thought
to be a waste of time, a delay of time. Think of all those things
that Moses could have done had the Lord called him sooner. Isn't that foolish thinking? Scripture says 2 Peter 3, 9,
the Lord's not slack. You know what that means? The
Lord's not delaying. Concerning His promise, as some
men count slackness or tardiness, but as longsuffering to us, we're
not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. And you know, you know that that
doesn't mean all without exception. He's talking about God's sheep.
He's longsuffering, Peter said, to us. God's elect. So Moses
has been, by the grace of God, delivered. By the grace of God. From the position of ruling over
others, from that pomp and glamour of the world, to the humility
and servitude of others. What a picture of our Lord. who humbled himself. We all have
to be brought down. God brings us down. He humbled
himself. Made himself of no reputation. Moses was kept 80 years by the
Lord and now at 80 years old, now God's going to speak to him.
Now the Lord is going to reveal his majesty and his wonder. Isn't
it so that the ways of God, that's not the way we think. Man's ways
are not God's ways. Moses is removed from the instruction
of that palace, instruction of the world, brought to the backside
of a desert to be instructed of God. What mercy! All the wisdom of
the Egyptians, All the wisdom of this world,
all the wisdom of false religion, teaches men nothing of God. Nothing. Nothing. Men can go through and read these
scriptures, read these words, right here. And if the Spirit
of God doesn't bless them, they know nothing. I remembered years
ago when the Lord was pleased to reveal Himself to me. Here
I was, Louisiana, religious, religious, reading. And when
God was pleased to open my eyes to the glory of God in the face
of the Lord Jesus Christ, to reveal Himself as God, sovereign
God, electing God, redeeming God, regenerating God, I began
to look at this and it was everywhere. It was everywhere in this book.
And I'd never seen it. Now here's Moses now. An educated
man in the things of this world. Educated in the education of
Egypt. But now he's gonna be taught
of God. He's gonna be taught of the Lord. Flesh can teach flesh. But only
the Spirit of God teaches a sinner the things of God. He's just a shepherd. That's all He is. He's just got
a flock of animals. That's, humanly speaking, that's
all He is. Zechariah 4.10 teaches us this,
though. for who, that is with spiritual
understanding, hath despised the day of small things. Do you realize how insignificant
to this world is a shepherd on the backside of a desert with
a few, with a flock, look, what do you do? I'm just a shepherd. It's usually the way of the Lord
in His revelation to His people. To teach His own of Himself and
to begin that work with what appears to be small things. Small things. Things that seem to be insignificant
to us. I've told you the story. That little church that I was
trying to pastor, started pastoring. I didn't know anything. I didn't
know anything. I didn't know God. I thought
I was so smart. But when the Lord was pleased
to reveal Himself to me, while I was pastoring, Just because
a man's standing in the pulpit, that doesn't mean he knows God. But whenever the Lord was pleased
and I began to preach what God had taught me, I was removed
from there by the Lord using those people. And I told you
about this one family. One family came out. That one family had one little
girl, an infant. Later, mom and dad, who was listening,
brought that little girl to a place where the gospel was preached.
That little girl grew up and got married. Mom and dad left
and went back. That little girl is still there.
Married, faithful. One little girl. I was there
for, I don't know how long I was there, a few years. And I thought
it was just a disaster. No. One little girl. Despised not.
the day of small things. God was going to deliver his
own, his people, out of the nation of bondage in Egypt, a type of
salvation out of the bondage of sin and unbelief, but it was
not going to be done by a man that thought or saw himself as
able. God brought him down, brought
him out of that extravagance, humbling. Whenever the temple
was, Solomon's temple had been destroyed, and they were going
to rebuild the temple. Zechariah 4, 6, when they were
going to rebuild the temple, it records the word of the Lord
concerning God's will for the work that was going to be done
in the rebuilding. And here's what it said, Zechariah
4, 6, not by might, Nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord
of hosts." Men are not going to receive the glory. They're not going to receive
the glory. When Moses was still in Egypt,
still part of that palace in favor of Pharaoh, he thought,
I want you to hold your place right there. Turn with me to
the book of Acts, chapter 7. This is an amazing revelation
here. Acts chapter 7. Moses, he was still in Egypt. And Moses thought to deliver
the people of God. He thought to deliver the people
of God. That thought came through his
mind. Now I want you to look at something. Acts chapter 7 verse 22-25, and
Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was
mighty in words and deeds. And when he was full 40 years
old, came into his heart to visit his brethren, the children of
Israel. and seeing one of them suffer
wrong, he defended him and avenged him that was oppressed, and smote
the Egyptian. Look at verse 25. For he supposed
his brethren would have understood how that God by His hand would
deliver them, but they understood not. Now that's an amazing passage
of Scripture. There's no scriptural record
back in the Old Testament that he thought that. But that God would move upon
the mind of a man named Stephen to say that. The Spirit of God
moved on Stephen. That scripture, verse 25, He
supposed his brethren would have understood how the God by His
hand would deliver them, but they understood not. That's the
only place it's recorded. That that entered into the mind,
but that the Spirit of God moved on Stephen. Luke, the penitent,
Stephen was the one who said it. It settles it. Did that enter into Moses' mind? Yeah. Yeah. The Spirit of God
said so. But now here he is on the back
side of the desert with a flock, no open distraction. How those thoughts are right
now, not recorded, but here he is, no hustle bustle, just Moses,
a flock of Jethro that he's watching, and the Lord. And Moses doesn't
even know the Lord's there. Steps have been ordered by God
for this purpose. Without Moses' knowledge, he's
just drawn by the power of God beyond Moses' ability to resist. And back in Exodus 3, it says
in verse 2 and 3, 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 burned. I'm going to investigate this
for myself. Now here was a thorny bush burning,
not consumed. And obviously we know, here is
the glorious picture of the God-man mediator, the Lord Jesus Christ. That fire, God is a consuming
fire. And that little thorny bush There it is. A picture of God-man. The revelation of the Lord as
the mediator between God. There's one mediator between
God and man. The man. Christ Jesus. One. Man's hope, right here. This is all man's hope. That
God would have mercy and He's revealed Himself unto Moses.
in a bush, a thorny bush, thorns, that which sets forth, made in
the likeness of sinful flesh. When Adam sinned against God,
cursed thorns and thistles, and there's that thorny bush in the
form of sinful flesh, burning, and the Scripture is declaring
him who was revealed to grow up before Him, the Father, as
a tender plant, as a root out of dry ground, hath no form nor
comeliness. When we see Him, there's no beauty
that we should desire Him. He was set forth as just a thorn
bush. Oh, but the glory in that thorn
bush that wasn't consumed. And here he was. He led Moses. He's going to talk to Moses.
He's in that place. Moses didn't know he was there.
But Moses being an object of God's mercy, the Lord said, I'll
never leave you. I'll never forsake you. Never
been a time that the Lord has not overseen, been with his people. Well when Moses said, he saw
that bush and he said, I'll now turn aside. Now the scripture
we just read over, he was a learned man. He studied, investigated. He knew, he was taught, I'm sure
Moses was taught all the things of science, math, all kinds of
stuff. Smart man, smart man. I'm gonna
turn right now and I will now turn aside and see this great
sight. And this is what struck me. I'm
gonna find out why. I'm gonna investigate this for
myself. I'm gonna delve into this. Why the bush is not burnt. And verse four and five says,
and when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, And my heart
is just drawn right here to think to myself, God knew. God knew
what he thought. All we know is that Moses said,
I'm going to turn this, I'm going to see this great sight, I'll
now turn aside and see this great sight, I'm going to see why.
I'm going to see why. And God, God saw. And God knew. And the scripture says, God called
to him out of the bush, midst of the bush, and he 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. Moses? Here am I. The Lord said, my sheep, hear
my voice. They hear. I know them, they
follow me. This is what he said, draw not
hither, do not come near. It's not that Moses are God's
people. are forbidden to approach God. James 4, draw nigh to God and
he will draw nigh to you. But Moses was not to draw nigh
unto God as he was with the attitude. Put off thy shoes from off thy
feet for, because, The place whereon
thou standest is holy ground. Now, what made that ground holy? God was there. God was pleased to meet with
Moses. And where God meets with men,
revealing himself as the covenant God, that's holy ground. I've thought about this statement
that I'm getting ready to make, and I mean it with all my heart,
based on this scripture right here. The scripture says where
two or three are gathered together in my name, I am in the midst
of you. Now, Neil, I'm convinced the
Lord's here. I'm convinced the Lord's here.
He is as here as he was with Moses. In the revealing of himself as the Lord God, The God-Man
Mediator. I believe that right now, He
who is God and man, fully man, right now, is here. Speaking to His people
as God was speaking to Moses. And His presence, and his will
to meet with this little flock. Someone says, you're just presumptuous.
No, I'm convinced. I believe this. This is holy
ground. Now I want you to listen to what
he told Moses. He told Moses, he said, draw
not nigh hither in the way and in the attitude that you've got. Put off thy shoes from off thy
feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. I want you to hold your place
and turn with me to Ecclesiastes. I'm wrapping this up. Ecclesiastes. You got Psalms, and you'll have
Song of Solomon, Proverbs, and then you'll have Ecclesiastes 5.1. The Lord brought this passage
of scripture to my mind this morning. Ecclesiastes 5.1, keep
thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready
to hear than to give the sacrifice of fools, for they consider not
that they do evil. Keep thy foot when thou goest
to that place where God has been pleased to manifest Himself,
the house of God. I know this, I've said before,
I know this is just wood and cellotex and carpet and all that.
But I'm telling you, when God is pleased to meet with His people,
when God is pleased to meet with His people, Solomon was moved by the Spirit
of God to say, you keep your foot when thou goest to the house
of God. I looked that up. Guard or attend
to your walk. Be careful. Be careful concerning
your conduct, your attitude. Remember. I'm saying this to
all of us. Remember where we are. Somebody says, well, we just
came to church. No, we didn't. If God Almighty is pleased to
be in this place, remember in whose presence we are. Remember. I'll turn and I'm going to find
out why. You take your shoes off. You be careful. Joshua, I'll read this for you.
Joshua, there's one other place I found where this word from
God was recorded. Joshua chapter 5, verses 13,
15. getting ready to lead the people. And the scripture says, it came
to pass, this is Joshua 5, 13. It came to pass when Joshua was
by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and he looked and behold,
there stood a man over against him with a sword drawn in his
hand. And Joshua went unto him and said unto him, art thou for
us or for our adversaries? And the one to whom Joshua looked
said, Nay, but as captain of the host of the Lord am I now
come. Here's the Lord Jesus Christ.
And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and did worship and
said unto him, What saith my Lord unto his servant? And the
captain of the Lord's host said unto Joshua, loose thy shoe from
off thy foot, for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so. The place of God's presence is holy ground. Keep your foot. In verse 6 of
Exodus 3, the Lord told him, moreover, I am the God of thy
father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob.
And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God. I want you to notice how graciously
the Lord revealed Himself to Moses. He said, I am the God
of covenant grace. I've chosen to show you mercy. I've looked upon you in favor
because I chose to. Not because of anything in you. I am the covenant keeping God. I am, I am the God, I am the
God. Not I was the God. Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob were alive. They were alive because of Him. The Lord was going to redeem
His people out of Egypt, not because of anything that they
had done that He saw in them, because He loved them. Last passage,
Deuteronomy 7. Deuteronomy 7, verses 6 to 8. The Lord is speaking. concerning Israel, his people,
spiritual Israel, exactly, for thou art a holy people unto the
Lord thy God. The Lord thy God hath chosen
thee to be a special people unto himself above all people that
are upon the face of the earth. The Lord did not set his love
upon you, nor choose you because you were more in number than
any people. For ye were the fewest of all people, but because the
Lord loved you. And because he would keep the
oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the Lord brought
you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you out of the house
of bondmen from the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Brethren, despise
not the day of small things. When God Almighty is pleased
to show mercy to His people, what God does to the world is
considered insignificant. There's some large places with
lots and lots and lots of people in this world. But where God is, God may be
pleased, just raise up a little handful here, handful there.
But where God is, now that's holy ground. I pray God bless
this to our hearts for his glory. Amen.