When Moses got his divine call to deliver the children of Israel from bondage, he was performing an insignificant job. He was in an insignificant place and God spoke to Him from an insignificant bush. Exodus 3:1-3 tells us ‘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. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire 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.”‘
At this stage of his life, Moses was a shepherd; he had been a great ruler in Egypt, but had to flee to the desert to seek refuge, because he had tried in his own strength to help his own people. He was a man who had been incredibly humbled by life and must have wondered from time to time “What will become of my people in bondage? I have ruined any chance I might have had to help them.”
Moses was at the edge of the desert. He was not in the heart of Egypt; one of the most powerful nations on the planet at that time. If he was, he might have been able to bring about change for his people through political means. Let’s just say not a lot of powerful decisions get made in the normal course of business at the edge of a desert.
Then Moses saw a burning bush. Now let me say something about this bush. The Bible does not tells us it was a particularly special bush. It doesn’t tell us if it was a fruit tree or a pine tree or a cypress tree. It just says it was a bush. Well, you say “there must have been something special about it.” I’m telling you the only thing special about that bush was that God chose to use it.
The Bible says that this bush began to burn with a supernatural fire. This was the thing that drew Moses’ attention. The bush burned, but didn’t burn. A normal, natural fire would have consumed that bush until nothing but ashes were left, but this bush was not being consumed as it burned. It wasn’t the bush that caught the attention of Moses, it was this supernatural fire.
Moses did not say, “Look at that beautiful bush, look at it’s beautiful flowers,’ or ‘look at those lovely apples on that tree, I’ll have to try one of those.” In fact I might be so bold as to suggest that the reason God chose this particular bush was because it had no redeeming features.
The Hebrew word for ‘bush’ cnah (sen-eh’) reveals nothing significant either. ‘Cnah’ means a bramble or bush. ‘Bush’ in English is defined as ‘a low plant with many branches that arise from or near the ground. A small cluster of shrubs appearing as a single plant.’ ‘Bramble’ is defined as ‘any of various rough thorny shrubs or vines.’
Ultimately, the only thing that made that bush attractive to Moses was that it carried and contained something significant. Moses was drawn to this burning bush like a moth to a flame. God began to speak to Him from the midst of the fire. I have to believe that as Moses drew near that burning bush, he was being consumed by it’s supernatural fire. His life was being touched and influenced by the voice of God and the fire burning within that bush.
God began to speak some incredible things to Moses out from the midst of that burning bush. He was given instructions to deliver an entire nation from bondage. There is nothing insignificant about those kinds of instructions. That bush was the instrument God used to deliver one of the most powerful messages ever recorded in the Word of God.
Now you say ‘why all this focus on this bush?’ I’m telling you, if God can use a bush to deliver a nation from bondage, He can use you! The Apostle Peter and the early disciples were like this burning bush. Peter was a humble fisherman. When the fire of the Holy Spirit fell on the day of Pentecost, many thousands came to see what was happening, and Peter preached a message that resulted in the salvation of three thousand souls. (Acts 2)
In Acts 4, Peter and John were taken before the Sanhedrin to be questioned. These were simple unschooled fishermen. The Scripture says ‘When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.’ (Acts 4:13)
Now, any normal fisherman from Galilee would not have had much of an impression on anyone. But Peter and John were burning bushes! When they spoke, the greatest religious leaders of the day were astonished. Peter and John were insignificant fishermen who carried something significant.
Today, maybe you’re feeling insignificant. Maybe you feel like God couldn’t do much in your life and through your life; I want to encourage you. Many times, God is looking for our availability more than our ability. Today, I am believing God for a mighty outpouring of the Holy Spirit in your life.
I believe God will pour fresh fire over you and baptize you in the fire of His Spirit. God wants you to be someone who carries so much of His fire and glory that people are drawn to you. He wants you to be the kind of person that when you speak, people hear the voice of God. God want’s to so transform you and fill you with the fire of His Spirit, that you will go from ordinary to extraordinary, from natural to supernatural, from insignificant to significant!
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