Have you ever found yourself in a wilderness. What I mean is that you are just stuck going through the motions and not enjoying life. You are down, depressed, lost just wandering through life’s same old routine with not a lot of hope of getting out. Moses could relate to that. Let’s look at his life today and learn about getting out of the wilderness.

          Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.

Exodus 3:1 Talk about a dead-end job! Moses is a stinking’ shepherd! He didn’t even start his own business. He didn’t earn his own way. The guy is working for his father-in-law! Literally, he’s out in the wilderness.

          What’s sad about this deal with Moses is that he used to be a somebody in Egypt. He was raised in the king’s house. The future was bright. His potential was unlimited. He was slated to help rule. But in one hotheaded moment, he took matters into his own hands, killed an Egyptian who was abusing one of Moses’ Jewish brothers, and ruined it all. He abused his privilege. He lost his status. Now, he’s on the run… in the wilderness – doubting his ability. “I guess all I’m meant to do is take care of a few sheep in an obscure wilderness.”

          Maybe that’s the way you’re feeling about your life. Look at those photo albums your mom has on the shelf – pictures when you were little. See the hope in your eyes. You were going to run faster than anybody – and be the smartest kid in the class. You were going to leave your mark on this world – good job, fast car, hot spouse. But look at you now. You’re not working for your father-in-law, but it’s a dead-end job. Or maybe you have no job at all. Things aren’t working out real well for you at home or at school or in your relationships. You’re feeling like there’s no point to your life. There’s no purpose for it. It’s not a stretch for you to say, “I’m in the wilderness.”

          That’s not a bad place to be. He has you right where He wants you. God loves to come to us in the wilderness. Look at verse 2. “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” Are you in a wilderness? Look for your burning bush! God wants to talk to you.

          A burning bush is the way God chose to get the attention of Moses. He might be seeking to get your attention in other ways. But don’t miss this: God lets us experience wilderness times – dead-end jobs, bad relationships – because He knows that it’s when we are in the wilderness that we are most ready to encounter Him. That’s when He gets our attention. For Moses, it was a burning bush.                                                                                               

          What’s been the burning bush for you? How has God been working to get your attention? What do you do when you are in the wilderness? There’s no real point, no real purpose, no real passion in your life? And God’s seeking to get your attention. You do what Moses did.

1. Draw near. Verse 3

          "So Moses thought, "I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up."."  Exodus 3:3

What if Moses said, “I have some sheep to shepherd. I can’t stop right now. I’m too busy!” Go close. Move in. Some of us are just too busy. We won’t slow down long enough to seek God, to see what He’s doing to get our attention.

          Day after day after day, we go through the motions. No point to it all. No real purpose. We go from one movie to the next, one job to the next, one relationship to the next. And we stay in the wilderness because we won’t draw near. “I have a job I’m pursuing. There’s a girl I’m chasing. I’m focused on school right now. No time to really draw near to you, God.” And we miss our burning bush – and stay in the wilderness.

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. James 4:8

          Many times when people are in the wilderness they turn a way from God and the church instead of drawing nearer to Him and his people. The longer you are away from God and his people the longer you will stay in the wilderness. What’s keeping you from turning aside? From drawing near? Will you set aside your agenda for God’s agenda? “Get God’s plan A for your life instead of your plan B.” Draw near. That’s what you do when you are in the wilderness. What’s next? Do what Moses did.

2. Listen up. – verse 4

          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." God was looking for some one-on-one time with Moses. God knew his name. Just like He knew Moses and pursued Moses, He knows you and pursues you. He knows your name.

          I have called you by name; you are mine. You are precious to me. You are honored, and I love you. Isaiah 43:1, 4 (NLT) Draw near. Listen up. You know what He will say? He’ll whisper your name and give you a hug! He is not calling you to Hi so that he can whip you or put you down. No he is calling you to spend time with Him. Just like God wanted Moses, Jesus wants you. He cares about you. You are precious to Him. He wants a relationship with you so much that He invites you to participate with Him in setting some people free. God offered the same to Moses. Draw near. Listen up. That’s what you do when you are in the wilderness. What’s next? Do what Moses did.

3. Remove sin. Verse 5

          "Do not come any closer," God said. "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” He first told Moses to remove his scandals because he was on “holy ground.” This was not some beautiful and ornate sanctuary, but a lonesome mountainside. The Hebrew word translated “holy” literally means, “separated.” God is calling Moses to separate himself. God is saying, “I want you to separate yourself from your past failures. I want you separate yourself from your present fears. I want you to separate yourself from every human thing.

          In the Bible when people have a face-to-face encounter with God, they see two things: His holiness and their sin. When one man of God, Isaiah, saw the Lord, the angels were singing “Holy, holy, holy” to God. And Isaiah said, There is no hope for me! I am doomed because every word that passes my lips is sinful, and I live among a people whose every word is sinful. Isaiah 6:5 (TEV)

           Job had the same experience. I had heard about you before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes. I take back everything I said, and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance. Job 42:5-6

          When you see God, you see His holiness and you are deeply aware of your own sin. You know that some things have to change. There are things I have to remove from my life. I have to take off my shoes. What sins needs to be removed from your life? A relationship with someone who is not passionate about God? A career goal that is clearly out of God’s will? A habit or an addiction that dishonors God? What’s keeping you from connecting with a holy God?                                                                                                  

If I don’t take off my shoes – if I don’t remove my sin – then God won’t use me. I miss out on plan and settle for plan B. Draw near. Listen up. Remove sin. That’s what you do when you are in the wilderness – and God is seeking to get your attention. What’s next?

4. Don’t Give Excuses.

          When God says, “Here’s plan A for you, we can come up with all kinds of excuses for sticking with plan B. Someone said: “Excuses are the nails used to build a house of failure.” Moses gives four lame excuses why he’s not going to do what God wanted him to do. We use these same excuses all the time.

Excuse #1. I’m not qualified. V. 11

          But Moses said to God, "Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?" Moses points out his smallness and weakness and insignificance to excuse himself from the job that God wanted him to do.  God’s answer to that tactic is always the same: “You’re right. You are small and weak. But that’s no excuse to cop out. Why?” God says in verse 12a I will be with you.

          God says, “I love to do big things through small people! How else will My name be glorified? Moses, I didn’t choose you because you are so great. You are a stinking’ shepherd. I don’t call many wise or powerful people. I like to use what is weak in the world to shame the strong. So you are absolutely right; you’re no qualified. But don’t let that stop you. I say to you what I always say to people who are poor in spirit and admit that they are weak. I will be with you.”

It is not that we think we can do anything of lasting value by ourselves. Our only power and success come from God. II Corinthians 3:5

Moses said, “I’m not qualified.” God said, “I will be with you.” He was with Moses and he will be with you.

Excuse #2. I’m not authorized. V 13

Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?" “If they say, ‘Who sent you? What right do you have to come and talk to us? Who authorized you?’ what will I say?”

          God introduces His name here. In the Bible, names express the nature and character of a person. That is certainly true when God gives us His name. God says, “Tell them I Am has sent you.” God said to Moses, "I am who I am . [b] This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.' "  Exodus 3:14

          What does it mean when you ask God, “Who are you?” and He answers, “I AM WHO I AM”? It means a lot. Part of what it means is this: Tell them that the eternal God, the One who didn’t have a beginning, the One who always is – the Creator of all – tell them I Am sent you.  Moses said, “I’m not authorized.” God said, “I’m authorizing you. The Great ‘I Am’ has sent you.” God authorized Moses and God authorizes you.

Excuse #3. I’m not believable. 4:1

Moses answered, "What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, 'The LORD did not appear to you'?" “Weren’t you listening, Moses? I already said (Exodus 3:18), ‘They will pay heed to what you say.’ And now you say, ‘What if…?’ Are you calling Me a liar?”

Moses gave a vote of no confidence in Almighty God.

          But what does God do? God gives him firsthand experience of how He is going to work miracles through Moses. Just a couple of little miracles to give Moses a small demonstration of the power of God.

Excuse #4. I’m not articulate. 4:10

Moses said to the LORD, "O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue."

          God, some people can just talk about You so easily. Not me! My tongue gets all tangled. Do you remember when I proposed to my wife? I practiced that proposal for three weeks and couldn’t spit it out. I never scored high on the verbal skills tests. You got to prove to me ahead of time that my mouth won’t freeze up on me.

          See, Moses thought that God should only pick people with special natural abilities to deliver His word. But God can take a person with little or no communication skill and still get His point across.

          God says, “I have unlimited power over all of the people of the world. I’ll help you speak and I’ll help them hear. I made everything and I control everything. I will be with your mouth and teach you in the moment what to say. No rehearsals. Just the promise. And remember who’s giving the promise! I’m God!”  Line up all your excuses. God knocks them down one-by-one. [He] is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.

Ephesians 3:20

If God is for us, who can be against us? Romans 8:31

          Moses still isn’t listening. In spite of God’s answers to all his objections, Moses adds up all his excuses. Add up all the excuses. 1+2+3+4= Send someone else! I’m not your man, LORD.

But he said, "Please, Lord, now send someone else to do it"

Exodus 4:13 “God, put it into the heart of Karen or Stephanie or Beth to go. Send Corey or Dave or Eric.” Moses isn’t giving any more excuses now. He’s simply saying “No.”                                                        

          This is when God gets angry. Then the anger of the LORD burned against Moses…Exodus 4:14 Why the anger? Think with me. Every objection Moses raised, God answered. “I’m going to bless you to set some people free and I will show My power – a power so great that absolutely nothing will stop Me. I Am is on the move. So, nothing can stop you from doing what I’ve called you to do.”

          Why did Moses still refuse to go? It’s simple: he didn’t believe God. He didn’t trust the Lord! Listen carefully. That ticks God off because it steals His glory. Remember: what’s at stake in the deliverance of God’s people is not just their freedom, but God’s glory. Moses is throwing water on God’s renown – His reputation. When you say “no” to God, you are doing the same.

           God is angry because there is hardly a greater insult you can pay to someone than to say, “I don’t believe You. I don’t trust You.” And to say to God, “You can’t be counted on, Lord,” it’s not a good thing to say. God gave an answer to every one of Moses’ excuses. Remember His answer to Moses’ second excuse? He tells us who He is. And for you to accomplish what He’s called you to do, it’s all you really need to know.

          14 God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” I am energy and I am power. I never need recharging. I never need a back-up system. There is nothing for Me to plug into. Everything in the universe plugs into Me. You don’t think you can live for Me, can do what I’m asking you to do? I am an inexhaustible reservoir of power. And I am closer than you think. You want to know who I Am is? Look at Jesus! Draw near. Listen up. Remove sin. Don’t duck. That’s what you do when you are in the wilderness.

5. Get moving. 4:20 

“So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey and started back to Egypt. And he took the staff of God in his hand.” It wasn’t easy. He had to deal with confrontations with God’s enemies, rebellion from God’s people. But God was with him every step of the way. Miracles from the heavens. Freedom for the people. And a closeness to His God. God wants to do the same through our lives if we’ll just get moving for Him.

          It’s worth saying “Yes” to Jesus to see Him work. You’re in the wilderness. You’re feeling despair. Is this marriage going to work? Is my job going to work out? Should I just wave the white flag and give up school? I’m ready to settle for plan B or plan C.

          What we need at Dalton First are people who are sold out to live in the presence of God – to live for the glory of God. Will you leave the security of tending sheep in a wilderness to do what God is calling you to do? God is looking for radical obedience, radical authenticity. Whatever you want me to do, Lord, I’ll do. And whenever You want me to be, I’ll be. And wherever You want me to serve, I’ll serve. Draw close. Listen up. Remove sin. Don’t duck. Get moving. This is the way out of your wilderness. Will you act on what God has said to you today?

Moses was in the wilderness because of sin in His life. It was a sin that he had committed that he thought that none else knew about yet when it was revealed, instead of confessing it and drawing near to God he fled and found himself miserable in the wilderness. God used the burning bush to get his attention so that he would confess his need and then be moved into a place of blessing.                                                 

What is God using today to get your attention to draw you closer to Him? Maybe there is some secret sin that you need to confess to get you out of the wilderness. There are great blessings ahead for you but you must come out of the wilderness and start living the spirit filled joyful life that God has planned for you.