ALL FLAME | SCOTT SILCOX
1 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. 7 Then the Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, 8 and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
9 And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. 10 Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” 11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” 12 He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”
13 Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” 14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” 15 God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations. - -Exodus 3:1-15
ALL IN / ALL FLAME
1. Turn Aside — Holy Ground Begins With Attention
+ The presence of God often requires interruption
before it brings instruction.
+ We are so accustomed to rushing into church, rushing through
songs, rushing into Monday, rushing through prayer, rushing
through family moments, rushing through Scripture that we
rarely ask:
What if God is already trying to meet me here?
What if there’s a burning bush in the middle of my routine?
What if the presence of God is closer than I realize, but I haven’t turned aside long enough to notice?
ALL IN / ALL FLAME
2. TAKE OFF YOUR SANDALS — Holy Ground Requires Reverence
2 Extremes
1: “God is so holy that
I can’t really come near Him”:
God is distant
God is angry
God is inaccessible
God is mostly looking for reasons to reject me
2: “God is so approachable
that I lose my sense of reverence”:
God is casual
God is ordinary
worship is common
the presence of God doesn’t need preparation, attention, or awe
2. TAKE OFF YOUR SANDALS — Holy Ground Requires Reverence
What does “take off you sandals” sound like today?
What do I need to lay down before I approach Him?
What attitude needs to come off?
What pride needs to come off?
What distraction needs to come off?
What cynicism needs to come off?
What hurry needs to come off?
3. I Have Seen — Holy Ground Reveals the Heart of God
+ The holiness of God does not make Him distant from
suffering; it moves Him toward it.
- God’s first revelation to Moses is not, “Here’s what I need from you,”
but here’s what I know about them.”
- Before God gives Moses a task, He reveals His heart.
+ God may be quiet, but He is never indifferent.
4. Who Am I? / I AM — Holy Ground Reframes Identity
+ On holy ground, Moses’ insecurity gets exposed
- Holy ground doesn’t just reveal God’s holiness. It also
reveals the places where we don’t trust Him yet.
+ God’s first answer to “Who am I?” is not a
compliment...it’s a promise
- On holy ground, you can move beyond the question ”am i enough?”
- is YOUR IDENTITY BASED on God’s consiSTEncy or your capacity?
5. NOW GO — Holy ground is a sending place
+ Every real encounter with God carries the
possibility of assignment.
- Isaiah sees the Lord, then hears, “Whom shall I send?”
- Peter encounters Jesus, then receives, “Feed my sheep.”
- Paul encounters Christ, then is sent to the nations.
- Moses encounters Yahweh, then is sent to Pharaoh.
What are you doing in me? and
What do you want to do through me?
“If you know a church on fire for God, tell me and I’ll go. A church where after you’ve gone in, you don’t come out the same, believing that God is there and you’ve been in His holy presence.” - Leonard Ravenhill, Evangelist and Author
