NOTES: Unstuck, Part 1
Sermon: Unstuck: Week 1: Give In to Wonder
Text: Exodus 3:1-6
Date: Sunday October 16, 2022
Philippians 3:14, “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
Exodus 3:1–6 (ESV)
3 Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. 3 And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” 4 When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5 Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” 6 And he said, “I am the God of your 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 at God.
Let’s Connect:
Stuck?
Explain:
Background of Moses:
Hebrews 11:26–27 (ESV)
26 He (Moses) considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. 27 By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible.
1. We are all a “Moses” with an upward call.
Paul writes it this way…Philippians 3:14–16 (ESV)
14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. 16 Only let us hold true to what we have attained.
Philippians 3:10 (ESV)
10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,
Burning bush encounter:
2. God is always present and actively working to gain our attention.
4 When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.”
3. Our part is to pay attention—to “give in” to wonder
“I venture to suggest that the one vital quality which they had in common was spiritual receptivity. Something in them was open to heaven, something which urged them Godward. Without attempting anything like a profound analysis I shall say simply that they had spiritual awareness and that they went on to cultivate it until it became the biggest thing in their lives. They differed from the average person in that when they felt the inward longing they did something about it. They acquired the lifelong habit of spiritual response.” (AW Tozer)
Why God desires our attention?
5 Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” 6 And he said, “I am the God of your 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 at God.
“Dear Lord, grant me the grace of wonder. Surprise me, amaze me, awe me in every crevice of your universe. Each day enrapture me with your marvelous things without number. ...I do not ask to see the reason for it all: I ask only to share the wonder of it all."--Abraham Joshua Heschel
The work of the Spirit:
Luke 12:12 (ESV)
12 for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”
Let’s Relate:
What does a life of wonder, listening, responding, interacting with God look like?
Challenge:
Give in to the Wonder- Increase our wonder and attentiveness toward God and his voice that calls us upward!