FIRE OF GOD
by Tony Abram
(Exodus 3:1) "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."
(Exodus 3:2) "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."
I. Moses was old and shepherd
of sheep on the backside of the desert.
A. He failed at age 40 with his talent, rank and money to
deliver his people.
1. He tried to do it in his own
strength.
B. Now God moves in at age 80 in to his life, not in the palace but
in a humble job.
2. God does not need out talents,
rank and money, He need us.
3. When God gets us He gets
everything else.
The bush not consumed, it is a sign and wonder.
1. What is a wonder? It is something
that makes us wonder.
2. This was not unusual, as the hot
sun would make bushes catch fire.
(Exodus 3:3) "And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight,
why the bush is not burnt."
(Exo 3:4) "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,
3. What was unusual was that this
bush burned but was not consumed.
C. Our part to be used of God at any age is to say, “Here am I.”
D. We are never to old to be used and called of God!
1. In Ventura, California, a 5-year-old boy was saved, filled
with Holy Spirit and called to preach in our service.
2. In Yugoslavia a 100-year-old woman was brought to our
crusade and was born again and 2 weeks later baptized in water.
3. In our crusade in Brazil a 108-year-old many was healed in
his legs.
4. We are never too young or too old to receive from our
living Christ.
(Exodus 3:5) "And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy
feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground."
(Exo 3:6) "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."
(Exo 3:7) "And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people
which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for
I know their sorrows;"
(Exo 3:8) And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians,
and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land
flowing with milk and honey;
II. Moses wanted to know God’s Name.
A. What is his name? This is what the world needs to know. What shall
I say unto them?
(Exodus 3:14) And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt
thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.
A. He is not the great I was, nor the great going to be, HE
IS THE GREAT I AM.
B. He is a present help in the time of trouble.
III. God meeting every need on the desert. Phil. 4:13
(Exodus 13:21) "And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud,
to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to
go by day and night:"
(Exo 13:22) "He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of
fire by night, from before the people."
A. Hot in the sun in the desert during the day but God gave
them a cloud to walk under. He provided air condition.
B. At night it is cold, he provided warmth from the pillar of
fire.
IV. God gave His divine protection.
(Zechariah 2:5) "For I, saith the LORD, will be unto her a wall of fire
round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her."
A. He said that He would never leave us.
B. My mother reads Psalms 91 every morning and claims His
protection.
V. God fire refines us. Why? So we can know Him and be more like Him.
(Zec 13:9) "And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will
refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall
call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they
shall say, The LORD is my God."
A. This is one of the reasons that God had to keep the
Children of Israel out in the wilderness for so long.
B. This fire is in us. The fire is the Holy Spirit working in
our lives.
(Mat 3:11) "I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh
after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall
baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:"
C. This fire is in the angels and His ministers.
(Heb 1:7) "And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his
ministers a flame of fire."
D. Most of all, our God has this fire. That is how the bush
could burn with out being consumed. This is how our lights can burn with our
going out. This is how we can have the ‘fire of God’ in our lives and not is
consumed. Let us use this fire in our lives.
(Heb 12:29) "For our God is a consuming fire."
Conclusion: Let us wait on God, Hear His Word. Obey His Word. If we have
to go through the wilderness for God to prepare us, let us do it and let the
fire of the Holy Spirit work in our lives and through our lives to help the sick
and needy world!
