The Excuses of a World Changer: Moses and the Burning Bush

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Hey, would you do me a favor? Share this message with someone who needs to hear it. We who are serving the Lord have discovered a secret. If you want to be a happy person, be a giving person. Happiness doesn't come so much by what we receive, but by what we give away. Today, Pastor Greg Laurie points out it's part of God's plan. Ask yourself the question, am I going to enjoy life in my own way, or am I going to employ my life serving God and others?

If you employ your life for the glory of God, you will enjoy your life like never before. This is the day when the lost are found. This is the day for a new beginning. Amazing grace, how sweet the sound.

Oh, can you hear when the angels are singing? This is the day, the day when life begins. It's easy to keep a mental tally of all the things we'd like to have.

Every commercial we hear wants to add one more thing to that list. But today on A New Beginning, Pastor Greg Laurie points out what we get won't satisfy as much as what we give. It's part of God's plan for our lives to pursue generosity and self-sacrifice, but we have to resist the lures that push us the other way. Today we'll consider the example of the world changer named Moses as we seek to live a God-honoring life.

This is the day, the day when life begins. Temptation. Here's the problem with temptation.

It's so doggone tempting. You know the devil is really good at what he does. He knows how to package his wares.

He knows how to make bad things look good and actually how to make good things look bad. And when temptation comes, man, you know it. And it's strong. And you feel the pressure. Maybe that's why writer Oscar Wilde once said, I can resist anything but temptation. But here's the good news. God, according to 1 Corinthians 10, 13, will never let us be tempted above our capacity to resist, but what with the temptation make a way of escape that you may be able to bear it.

Now look. I don't know about you, but I know for me if I even take a little taste, that's where the problem begins. And by that I mean let's use dessert as an example of temptation. And they even will say, can I tempt you with a dessert? It's funny they'll use the word tempt. And I always say no. No dessert. My wife will say, well, what do you have?

I say, no, don't do it. She did this the other night. What do you have?

Don't ask what they have. And then she said, we'll just have one bite. And then I said, that's what Eve said to Adam. Ok. So they bring the dessert with the five forks and all that. If I don't have a taste of it, it's a non-issue. But the moment I taste it, party over.

I am engaged. You know how that goes. So we have all been tempted not just by dessert but by serious things. By sinful things. It might be a temptation to be lustful. A temptation to be prideful. A temptation to be hateful. Whatever it is.

What a great thing it is when we pass the test. And by that I mean we say no to it. And honestly when you are saying no, it's not easy is it?

Oh I really want to. No. I am not going to do it. But then the blessing comes. Because James tells us, blessed is the man who endures temptation for when he is tried he will receive the crown of life. And that word blessed could be interchanged with the word happy.

Happy is the man or the woman that says no to temptation. If you want to be a world changer you need to learn how to say yes to God and how to say no to the devil. And how to refuse certain things. And that is what we are going to look at now. The life of Moses.

A world changer. This is part two on Moses. We are going to look at what he said no to. Now before we pick up where we left off let's remember that the Pharaoh had given an edict that all of the Jewish baby boys were to be put to death. And the parents of Moses of course loved their little boy and they wanted him to live so they built a little boat for him in a way. It was a basket covered in pitch.

Sort of waterproof. But sort of like a Moses Ark if you will. They put it there on the Nile River and gave it a little push and it was just kind of floating down the river. It came right in front of the area where the Pharaoh's daughter would visit. She was a princess of Egypt and almost as if on cue little Moses the beautiful baby gave out a cry.

The daughter of the Pharaoh went and looked at it and saw him and fell in love with him. Her maternal instincts kicked in. She decided she wanted to keep this little one as her own son. And we know also that Miriam the older sister of Moses was nearby. And she said, hey you probably need someone to nurse that little baby and I know a mother that is nursing.

She can do it for you. And the Pharaoh's daughter agreed that someone was the mother of Moses. So she got to spend three precious months with her little baby. But then she had to release him. And he grows up in the court of the Pharaoh. He grows up really as a potential successor to Pharaoh. And that is where we pick the story up in Hebrews chapter 11.

It was by faith, verse 24, that Moses when he grew up refused to be treated as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. He chose to suffer the oppression of God's people instead of the fleeting pleasures of sin. He thought it was better to suffer for the sake of the Messiah than own the treasures of Egypt. And he was looking ahead to the great reward that God would give him. Interesting phrase. Better to suffer for the sake of the Messiah, who had not yet come yet, than to own the treasures of Egypt.

And that is such an accurate description of what was going on. For Moses the world was his oyster. He could have anything he want. He had affluence and influence. The most beautiful clothing.

The best meals. The finest education. And if he had played his cards right he might have been the most important man on the face of the earth. But underneath that beautiful apparel beat the heart of a Jew. And his fellow Hebrews were suffering under the cruel taskmasters of Egypt. And he cared for his fellow Jews. And for him he could not stay in this place that he was. He had to leave the palace.

And verse 24, by faith when he grew up he refused to be treated as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. He grew up. I heard that expression a lot when I was growing up. Teachers would say it to me.

Other people would say, Greg Laurie will you just grow up? Because I was always a prankster. I was always getting into trouble. I wore diapers until I was 30.

Never shared that before. That was a joke by the way. Just wanted to see if you are listening. But the idea is you know I wasn't growing up as quickly as people wanted me to. And some people need to grow up. Now this of course is talking about Moses just getting older. But it is also about maturing. We need to grow up spiritually. And one of the indications of spiritual growth is when we start thinking about others more than ourselves. If Moses just thought of himself he would say, hey man I am living the life of a king.

I am going to just stay right here. But no. Others were suffering and he thought I have got to do something to alleviate their suffering. So that brings us to point number one. He refused a lot of things. What did he refuse?

Number one. He refused a position of power in Egypt. He refused a position of power in Egypt. Offering commentary on the life of Moses young Stephen said in Acts 7 22, Moses was educated in the learning of the Egyptians. But see God did not want him to be Moses the Egyptian scholar. Or Moses the Egyptian statesman. God wanted him to be Moses the man of God. And by the way that is what the Lord wants from each of us as well.

Number two. Moses refused the pleasures of Egypt. The pleasures of Egypt. For him to stay in this place of power would have been sinful. Now God has used other men and women in the corridors of power to influence leaders. Of course we know Daniel was taken along with the other Israelites in the captivity of Babylon. But he had great influence on King Nebuchadnezzar. In fact Babylon played a role in the conversion of King Nebuchadnezzar. Some people don't know that Nebuchadnezzar the king became a believer. Daniel also influenced Darius. Belshazzar too. But Belshazzar did not listen. Now we know Joseph had great influence on the Pharaoh.

And Esther because of her influence in the palace was able to save her entire nation. So the point of this is is that we have to ask ourselves Lord where do you want me to be? He might put you in a corridor of power. He might have you laboring in relative obscurity.

But wherever you are you need to use your influence for his glory. And ask yourself the question am I going to enjoy life in my own way or am I going to employ my life serving God and others? Let me simplify it. Are you going to enjoy your life or employ your life? Now let me clarify something. If you employ your life for the glory of God you will enjoy your life like never before. Because serving the Lord is the most joyful thing you can do. Am I right?

Do you know what I am talking about? It is true. The Bible says in his presence there is fullness of joy and in his right hand there are pleasures forevermore. See we who are serving the Lord have discovered a secret.

And Jesus said it to us very clearly. He said it is more blessed to give than it is to receive. And another way you could translate blessed is happy. If you want to be a happy person be a giving person. If you want to be an unhappy person be a selfish person. If you want to be a happy person be a generous person. If you want to be a miserable person be a stingy person. Be generous with everything God gives you. Be generous with your time. Be generous with your money. Be generous with whatever is at your disposal.

But if you are always hoarding and thinking about others can cater to you you are not going to enjoy this happiness. In a moment, a startling encounter. Moses sees a burning bush and has a conversation with God himself.

That is coming up in just a moment. It is reassuring to hear when a listener has been impacted by the ministry of Pastor Greg. My story with Pastor Greg goes back 25 years to a Promise Keepers Conference at the L.A.

Coliseum. And Pastor Greg was speaking at that conference. I sat through most of it. But at the very end of that conference I made a commitment to live the Christian life. During that time a hunger began to come into my heart to study the Word. I began to be very convicted by some of the things that I had been doing. Music I was listening to. Movies I was watching. The way I used my language. All of those things began to change. But yet I was still in a very difficult situation.

I was in my mid 30's living in Southern California. And I was at the corner of Oso Parkway and the 405. And Pastor Greg had a message around lunch time. I found his radio station and I was listening to him. And he had a message about the battle between the flesh and the spirit. And that message is exactly what I needed at that time. And so there's two events in a row where Pastor Greg came into my life. And that message that I heard at the radio really encouraged me and helped me to understand that I was going to be in a battle.

But that Christ had the victory in that. And so here I am 25 years later. My wife and I are involved in ministry and our church. Just want to thank you Pastor Greg for being faithful, blessings to you and your ministry. When we hear from you, it's not only a blessing, it also confirms that the program is touching lives. You can leave a message for Pastor Greg at 1-866-871-1144. Once again that's 866-871-1144. Well today Pastor Greg is helping us follow the example of Moses as he presents his engaging series called World Changers.

Let's continue. In another story he saw an Egyptian slave driver mistreating a Jew. So Moses looked to the right, he looked to the left and he killed the Egyptian. Then he hid him in the sand which is never a good place to hide a body.

Because the wind blows and soon everyone knows what happened. And the pharaoh found out and said I'm going to have Moses executed. So Moses headed for the hills and he decided well that's it.

I've blown my chances. I'll just live a life in obscurity now. And he found a family that took him in. He married one of the daughters and he became a shepherd. And by the way back in those days in the estimation of the Egyptians to be a shepherd was the lowliest job you could have. So he went from the prince in the palace to a common laboring shepherd. Probably had an early retirement.

Thought well that's it for me. But he wasn't quite prepared for what was about to happen because he was going to encounter a bush that did not stop burning. And he was going to come face to face with a god of second chances. Look at Exodus chapter 3 starting in verse 1. One day Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law Jethro the priest of Midian.

He went deep into the wilderness near Sinai the mountain of God. Suddenly the angel of the Lord appeared to him as a blazing fire in a bush. Moses was amazed because the bush was engulfed in flames but it didn't burn up. Moses said to himself amazing. Why isn't this bush burning up?

I need to go over and see this. And then the Lord when he saw he had caught the attention of Moses called to him from the bush. Moses. Moses. Here am I Moses replied. God said don't come any closer. Take off your sandals for you are standing on holy ground.

We will stop there. So God proceeds to tell Moses that he is aware of the suffering of the Jewish people. And that God is going to now call Moses to lead those people out of their bondage. Understand Moses he is 80 years old.

He spent 40 years in the court of Pharaoh. Now 40 years in the wilderness. He is well into retirement. He is not thinking about doing much of anything. And he had not heard from the Lord presumably.

For 40 years maybe you feel that way right now. It is like man I can't remember the last time I heard from God. You know one thing to always check if you don't feel like the Lord is speaking to you. Is make sure you have no unconfessed sin in your life. Nothing will cut off communication between you and the Father in heaven faster than sin that is not dealt with. God says in Isaiah 59 my ear is not heavy that it can't hear.

My hand is not short that it can't save. But your sins have separated you from me. So it is a good thing on a regular basis to just say Lord forgive me of my sin.

Listen. It is a good thing on a daily basis to say Lord forgive me of my sin. In the Lord's Prayer that is not just an amazing prayer to pray. But as a template for all prayer Christ taught us to pray forgive us our sins as we forgive those who have sinned against us. It is something we should do on a regular basis and just say Lord forgive me for all sin known and unknown.

But in the case of Moses it wasn't unconfessed sin. It was timing. He wasn't quite ready.

You know the Lord was waiting for him to be prepared. I don't know why but microwaves seem slow to me now. And by the way I am old enough to remember when we did not have microwaves. Most of you have never lived in that time. I remember when the first microwave came out.

I thought it was the most marvelous thing I had ever seen. But now like I will put something in. Four minutes.

It is like are you serious. Four minutes. Four minutes.

What am I going to do for the four minutes. He is standing. He waited.

He waited. Bing. And bing means you can get your food now. Right. And so Moses is just kind of spinning around. Not ready.

Bing. He is ready. He doesn't know he is ready. He is just watching the sheep. All of a sudden there is this bush. This weird bush that is on fire. But it is still there.

It is not burning up. What is going on. He walks over there and God speaks to him through the bush. So now what is happening.

The Lord is recommissioning him. Now think about this. It is an ordinary bush doing an extraordinary thing. God could have just sent an angel. Hi I am an angel.

Go do this. He had done that before. But now it is this bush that burns. And why do you think the Lord chose that bush.

Well in a way it was almost like a picture of Moses. You are like an old bush that is going to start burning. I have a plan for your life. You know sometimes in life when there is sort of an interruption it may be an intervention.

You know we have our schedule. We are going about our day. And there is an interruption. Why did this happen. Why did I get a flat tire. Why did this other thing take place.

Why is this other thing going on. But that may be divine intervention. Or maybe there is a disappointment in your life. You thought you should have done a certain thing and God said no. And you said I am disappointed.

Know this. Sometimes disappointment is his appointment for you. When I was a young boy I fell in love with girls a lot. I was sort of a hopeless romantic.

And I remember I was around 18 years old a brand new Christian. And I met this girl that I thought was amazing. And she was pretty and she was godly. And that was important to me that she was pretty and godly.

And so we were talking and I said would you like to go out to dinner with me sometime. And she said no. Well she had a really cool Volkswagen van.

Remember those. And my car was always breaking down. I had a Corvair. Not a Corvette. A Corvair. Those are the cars that Ralph Nader wanted to take off the road.

Maybe for good reason. They were effectively made out of aluminum foil I think. So one day I got into a collision and my literally my front headlights were crisscrossed. And I kept driving it.

You have got to give her credit. I kept running. Finally a police officer pulled me over and said get that off the road now. So I didn't have a car.

And I was driving from Orange County to Riverside to come and speak up here. And so this really nice girl that didn't want to go out to dinner did let me borrow her Volkswagen van. So God bless her. But then I met Kathy. You see Kathy was the girl for me.

This other girl is a wonderful lady. She wasn't the one the Lord had chosen for me. So maybe God says no to you.

That is a disappointment. Yeah. It can be His appointment.

The interruption can be intervention. And that is what was happening to Moses. And I want you to notice something. He is 80 years old.

His skin is weathered in tan from the blazing sun. But the Lord calls him. You know God doesn't just call young people.

He calls all people at every stage in life. You know nothing is sadder than someone who has gotten older and has learned nothing. You know when a beautiful young girl turns into a cougar. That is not good.

Or when a young man turns into a dirty old man. Listen. Just kind of rule of thumb. If you are past the age of 50 you can no longer shop at Forever 21. It stops today. Alright.

They had to start carting people when they come in. Excuse me ma'am. How old are you? I am 40. Sorry.

There is a store down there called 40 and older that you can go to. You cannot shop at Forever 21. Oh use money. No. Go.

Go. But this is the problem. When you go through life and you get older and you have learned nothing.

But here is what is wonderful. As you get older you learn a few things. One of the few advantages of age. You hopefully learn a few things. But here is the problem with getting older. You become more conservative.

And by that I mean you are less willing to take chances and risks. And you like routine. You go to the same restaurant every night. You order the same thing. You sit in the same seat. When you go to church you sit in the same place. I am looking at some of you. And by the way that is ok. We are glad you are here and we are glad you have a little spot. But really it is not appropriate to strike someone if they sit in your seat.

Ok so next time just scoot over. No but seriously we like routine. We like to know what is coming. When you are young you are willing to take chances. When you are young you are willing to take risks. You are willing to just go for it.

But when you are older it is like I don't know if I want to try that you know. And Moses was well past retirement age. You know he says, hey man I worked hard. Now I am going to kick back. I meet people that are retired. Yeah I am retired. Just work.

Take the old pension. What are you going to do? Golf. What else? Fish. What else? Sleep. What else? Fish.

What else? Try to golf and fish simultaneously. Get out of your lazy boy and get busy for the kingdom of God. God still has a plan for your life. Pastor Greg Laurie with a practical look at the lessons we can learn from Moses from his series called World Changers. Pastor Greg has an important way to close today's study so stay tuned. Now to get a replay of today's insight or to play it for someone else just go online to harvest.org and look for the title The Excuses of a World Changer. You can also listen again by way of our Harvest mobile app. To order a permanent copy on CD call 1-800-821-3300. We are here 24-7 to take your call.

Again dial 1-800-821-3300. And then we're so pleased to have authors Jeff and Shanti Feldhahn with us in the studio today. They've written an excellent book called Thriving in Love and Money. It looks at how a healthy relationship and a healthy attitude toward money go hand in hand. And if money is creating tension that may be a reflection of tension in the relationship.

Shanti in one part of the book you write this. You say if you have more financial cushion in your life but you do not talk about money. You're more likely to have damaging tensions than if you have less money on hand but could at least talk about it. Yes building cushion is important.

Talking trumps that because they found that if you build the cushion. If that's what you're focusing on is the finances. But you're not focusing on being able to communicate about money. Be able to come together and talk about it.

That the relationship is likely to be worse than if you had less cushion but you could at least communicate. Very interesting. So if you're listening I'm speaking with Jeff and Shanti Feldhahn. And they've written a great book that you need to have in your hands called Thriving in Love and Money. No this is not just another book on money.

This is different subtitle five game-changing insights about your relationships your money and yourself. And so we're getting into the hood a little bit here and we're talking about these important issues. Because you know with this pandemic continuing on I think we're all hoping that maybe would have subsided more by this point. And people are under incredible financial stress. Some have been laid off. Some have been furloughed.

A lot of uncertainty in the air etc. This is a time when it's really important to talk about these issues. Yes money but to talk about our relationships.

To talk about our marriages and talk about communication in our marriages. So for whatever you send we'll invest it in this ministry. And we'll get you your own copy of this book by Shanti and Jeff Feldhahn Thriving in Love and Money.

Yeah that's right. It's a book that can help transform the atmosphere in your home. Money is such a hot button in so many relationships especially right now. Let us send you Thriving in Love and Money. It's available for just a short time longer as our thank you gift to those who can make an investment to help keep these daily studies coming your way.

So get in touch right away and ask for Thriving in Love and Money. When you send your investment to A New Beginning, Box 4000, Riverside, CA 92514. Or call us anytime 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-800-821-3300. 1-800-821-3300.

Or go online to Harvest.org. Well next time here on A New Beginning, Pastor Greg has more insights from the life of Moses. But before we go, Pastor Greg has an important word to close today's program. Hey everybody, a few thoughts about this election that's coming up. As you all know on November 3rd we're going to elect the President of the United States. Your vote matters.

Listen, every Christian should register and vote. I cannot emphasize that enough. It's our responsibility. It is our duty.

But it is also our privilege. And we really have no right to criticize what's going on in our nation if we don't even take the time to vote for a candidate. I'm not going to tell you who to vote for, but I'll give you some ideas. When I cast my vote I can tell you there's some things that factor into it.

I can talk about a lot of things, but let me just pick two out in particular. The candidate that will receive my vote will be one that is pro-life. I would never vote for a candidate that would support the aborting of unborn children. Number two, I'm going to vote for a candidate that stands with and supports the nation Israel. God promises a blessing to the people that bless God's people. So those are a couple of things to think about as you go to the voting booth. So vote your conscience, but vote biblically and do vote.