at Gospel Light, and I always look forward to the time being here. What a powerful message and song, amen? And I appreciate Brie writing that song from her heart. And all of us have some donors we need to throw over, don't we? Amen. And nobody can throw them over for us. We have to throw them over ourselves, but oh, the joy when we get Jonah off the boat. Amen. And so thank you so much, Pastor, for allowing me to come. It's always a joy to be here. I appreciate the accommodations, the room for a couple nights, and I appreciate the meal with you and your family. I go on record of saying how much I love the Warren family, all of them. They've been a blessing to me over the years and the opportunity I've had to get to know them, what a joy it is. You know, the ministry is the people business. Somebody said one time, he said, I'd love the ministry if it wasn't for people. Well, you know, you take people out of it, you don't have no ministry, all right? And, you know, people are not products. You go to the grocery store, you set it, you set the cans up in on one spot, one aisle, and you come back the next day, they're still there. People don't work that way. All right. You put people one place, they move another place. People have personalities. And working together is not always the easiest thing to do, but the greatest opportunity in all the world is loving God and loving people. And so, certainly thankful for the joy and the opportunity to be back here. It's always been a joy over the years, and I'm thanking God for his grace and sustaining grace. Life is a gift, amen. And not guaranteed, so we certainly thank the Lord for what God is going to do in and through the service tonight. with what to preach. And honestly, I start listening to the testimonies of people sharing what God was doing in their lives. And it's as if God confirmed what He had already been working in my heart about. So we'll go there in the Word of God. The book of Exodus, chapter number three, would you open your Bibles there with me? This is where God is directing my heart Thank you for the music choir tonight. We sure appreciate you all ministering. And listen, if the choir doesn't keep your attention, just watch Sheila direct the choir, and that'll keep your attention. I think I burned about 500 calories watching her. And I was just sitting there. So she clearly burned about 2,000. She's got those shoes, the heels on them, this tall. I don't know why she thought she had to wear heels. She was already jumping to the ceiling without them. And I mean, those Tech Choirs, like, we better sing, because she's just, she's just, she's just, I mean, good gracious alive. It's a wonder she's not just withered away or moving there. But what a joy to see somebody love what they're doing. I was reading an article years ago And it was Warren Buffett, who's a billionaire, and they were asking him, what was the secret to happiness in life and success? And he said, I'll summarize it in four words. A multi-billionaire who teaches people how to be successful. Here's what he said. Do what you love. Do what you love. You know what's wrong with America? Well, how much time you got? Let me just give you a couple, okay? If I give you everything's wrong with America, y'all will try to get me on the ticket for 2024, and I ain't trying to get shot, you know what I'm saying? Don't put me on that ticket, no, no, no, no, no. But one of the things wrong with America is we got teachers that don't love kids. Huh? We got preachers that don't love people. Huh? We got mamas and daddies that are married that don't like each other. Come on. I mean, and we got all these people. They fill in a spot that they don't. You ever go to a business and ask somebody that's working at that business with a shirt on and a tag on that says, how may I help you? And you ask them to help you, and they're like, why did you ask me that? And you're saying, why do you work somewhere? It's like these truckers out here that drive like idiots. And on the back of their truck, it says, how's my driving? You know, these restaurants that have nasty bathrooms, and on the wall it says, if you don't like how we clean our bathrooms, just let us know. We live in a day and age of ideals. We like formality without functionality. We like image without integrity. And we got a bunch of people doing stuff that they don't want to do. Hey, listen to me. If you don't want to do it, don't do it. But if you're going to do it, act like you love it. Amen. And so thank you. Thank you so much for putting the emphasis on a whole bunch of people. We'll go home tonight, and there'll be NBA teams. They'll be playing them guys out there playing ball because they love ball. And God help us. God help us. God help us on a Monday night to be in church because we love church. Amen. And enjoy ourselves. I go to some churches. I tell you, they look like they're just sucking on prunes. My wife said, you say everything that comes to your mind. I say, and everything that's on everybody else's mind, too. They're scared to say it. And once I say it, they're like, I'm glad he said it, because I would have never had the nerve to say it. Pastors come up to me and say, if I would have said what you said in the pulpit, they would have run me out of there. I say, because you act embarrassed about it. Own it, amen? You make a mistake, don't let anybody know you know you made one, all right? Act like you didn't, yeah, I said that. And then you walk out and go, I can't believe I said that. But anyway, well, the joy it is, and I do enjoy the Lord, and I wouldn't be here if I didn't. And I would never, I would never, I would never inconvenience you and take your time on a Monday night if I didn't think this was serious. I left my wife and my family and came down 29. That in itself is borderline suicide. But I did it because I think what's going on in this building tonight is serious. Now I'm a Lakers fan. We're down 3-1. We should be up 3-0. At least, maybe 3-0, maybe 3-1. We're down 3-1. I'm praying. I don't even know if I should be praying about this stuff. But the Bible said, be careful for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication. So basketball includes everything. Everything includes me. I'm praying that the Lakers can come back with LeBron James at 39 and catch up against the Denver Nuggets. But do you know that what's going on in this building is way more important than what's going on in the NBA tonight? We need revival. I said, we need revival. And I can't bring it in the car. I don't keep it in the briefcase. I can't whip it up in some big pot and serve it to all of you. I can't pull you up here on the platform, rub some oil on you, slap you upside the head with a boom shaka laka laka. I can't give you revival. But listen, I know a God who can. And let's let him tonight, amen. All right, Exodus chapter three. Look at all these wonderful different kinds of cough drops up here. I mean, all kinds of ones. They got mints and mucinax and Ricola. And I mean everything up here. Vitamin C. I'm looking to see if they got holes in here. They got any holes in here? They nasty. You know, the nasty ones are the ones that work. When we were kids, we used to love Ludens, because they taste just like candy. And the teacher couldn't say, you're not allowed to have that in class. We said, oh, no, it's a cough drop. It's a throat lozenge. And she'd say, OK, if you need it. It wasn't nothing but candy, but it was good. So praise the Lord. Exodus chapter 3. Stand up, would you, for the reading of God's word. You can't have a good time in church. Something's wrong. Something's wrong. And I had ribs for dinner. I was going to get a half a rack, but I had two Warrens on the right and on the left. And both of those real men said, we want a whole rack of ribs. And in my mind, I was going, I don't need a whole, I don't think I can eat a whole rack. But them two men said a whole rack. I looked at the lady and said, bring me a rack. I ain't turning down no re-ups. I guarantee you Adam wasn't a black man in the Bible. Tell you that right now. Because you'd have never been able to get a re-up from a black man. But we love us some re-ups. One brother said, oh yes, he was black. He was sure enough black because God had to put him to sleep to take the re-up. Amen. Come on now. Can I get an amen? Glory to God. Somebody said, Jesus served five loaves and two fish. Yes, five loaves of sweet cornbread and two pieces of catfish, amen. What about the disciples? They were passing out hot sauce and tartar sauce, amen. Glory to God. Exodus chapter three, you got it? I think it might take you a while to find Exodus, so I'm trying to give you some time. Amen. Moses kept the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. He led the flock to the backside of the desert, came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb. And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush, and he looked. Can I get a witness? And behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. And Moses said, I will now, turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. 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, here am I. Let the church say amen. Father, add thy blessing to the reading of your Word. Cleanse me of sin, empty me of self, and fill me with your Spirit. Do a work like only you can. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I'm proud of these young people tonight to be sensitive to the Word of God, sensitive to the moving of the Spirit, to already want to be in touch with you. Now help us all. May this message not just be for some of us, But for all of us, may nobody leave here the same way he came. Bind the devil, put a hedge protection about this place. Oh God, send a revival in this place and may it begin in me. Now just up the road about three hours or so, I pray God that you'll watch over my precious wife and my family while I'm gone. May you take me back to them just a little while. just as safe and sound as they were when I left today. Help us, Lord. Help us in the mighty, precious, matchless, wonderful, holy, pure, lovely name of Jesus, our Savior and your Son. Amen and amen. You may be seated. Thank you for standing. Everybody's heard of Moses. Everybody, just about everybody's heard of Moses. Whether you're saved or unsaved, most people heard of Moses. Whether you're from America or another country, most people heard of Moses. Whether you're going to church or not, most people have heard of Moses. Whether you've spent one day in Bible college or seminary, or you've never been in any kind of formal education about the Bible. Most people have heard of Moses. Whether you're religious or altogether secular, just about everybody has heard of Moses. You don't have to be a Bible scholar. You don't have to be a skilled theologian. You don't have to be an expert in Hebrew or Greek. Just about everybody who's somebody with oxygen in his lungs has heard of the man Moses. He's a household name. He's a familiar Bible character. And when you say names like Moses, Names that are very familiar to human beings. Accomplishments of Moses immediately come to your mind in connection with this man. He wrote the first five books of the Bible known as the Pentateuch, known as the Law. They were written by a man named Moses. Moses is the one who was raised in Pharaoh's daughter's home and with the royalty and all of the pomp and circumstance that Pharaoh's family was privy to, that was Moses. Moses is the one that was flushed out of Egypt for killing someone and eventually came back to Egypt with a rod in his hand, that rod that Moses had He threw it down and turned into a serpent. He picked it back up and it turned back into a rod. That was Moses' rod that did that. He came into Pharaoh and said, God said, let my people go. That was Moses talking to Pharaoh. By the hands of Moses, 10 plagues were dealt to Egypt, culminating with the killing of the firstborn. That all happened at the hand of Moses. Moses is the one that after that 10th plague, gets Pharaoh to release the Jews. And then he leads the Jews out of Egypt, led by a pillar of cloud by day pillar of fire by night. They're being led by none other than a man named Moses. It is Moses who approaches the body of water known as the Red Sea with Pharaoh and his armies behind them. Listen, they can't swim across the Red Sea. They can't take a cruise across the Red Sea. They can't get in a helicopter and go across the Red Sea. It's the hand of Moses that stretches out that rod. You know your Bible. Part of the Red Sea goes that way. Part of the Red Sea goes that way. An estimated amount of one million and a half or two million Jews are gonna march across on dry ground. Guess who's leading them? A man by the name of Moses. After they get across, Pharaoh and his armies are now going to walk into that dry ground and Moses is going to take that same rod, stretch it out, and now the Red Sea is going to close up on Pharaoh and his armies and they're going to drown. In the wilderness, Moses is the one, before they ever get there, whose hands are held up and they win the battle. Moses is the one that gets manna from God. Moses is the one that gets the bitter water sweet. Moses is the one that strikes the rock and water comes out. Moses is the one that leads the people to receive quail. Moses is the one that goes up to Mount Sinai and comes down after speaking with God friend to friend with the two tables of stone known as the Ten Commandments. I could go on and on. You could just talk about the stuff that Moses did in the Bible. And most of us have heard about Moses. We're familiar with Moses. We know that Moses was great. We're impressed with Moses. We admire Moses. We'd love to do stuff that Moses did because Moses is the kind of Bible character that's a big time character in the Word of God. Everybody has heard of Moses, but I want to tell you something tonight on a Monday night in Revival. You can get happy about Moses' rod. You can get impressed with Moses' accomplishments. You can be enamored with Moses parting the Red Sea. You can be wowed by Moses getting those tables of stone. You can be drawn to the fact that Moses and God talked like good friends, but could I tell you all of the greatness associated with the man named Moses. None of it happens unless Exodus chapter three, Moses and the bush. And if we're not careful, we will strive for the product without the process. I'm afraid that in 2024, everybody's trying to be great, but nobody knows what the price is for greatness. I run into young men today, and they're in Bible college, and they're already thinking about Bibles they're going to sign, and meetings they're going to preach, and flyers with their name on it, and people with their pictures on it, and YouTube channels with their preaching on it, and people calling them up and wanting them to come in, and the guy hadn't even gone through one semester of Bible college, and I'm saying to him, buddy, you better quit trying to be big, because you ain't gonna never be big till you learn how to be small. And I'm telling you that everybody can get impressed with Moses that we know him today in 2024, but everything good about Moses that you and I are aware of, everything started in Exodus 3 at this bush. Now there he is on the backside of the desert. And guess who else is there with him? Almighty God. Some of y'all say amen today that God knows where we are, amen. And there is God and Moses on the backside of the desert. And I'm telling you in Exodus chapter three and Exodus chapter four, Moses is gonna change and he's never ever going to be the same again. But I would submit to you that Moses' change in Exodus three and four did not just occur simply because God was there. Well, somebody says, well, I know how Moses changed. Moses changed because God was with him on the backside of the desert. Well, well, well, well, well, well, well, God is a lot of places with people and they don't change. Amen. I mean, I was at church yesterday. I'm telling you, I'm telling you, as sure as I'm breathing, God was there. God was in the singing. God was in the preaching. God was in the fellowship. I mean, listen to me. We had the Lord's Supper last night. God was there. Could I tell you there are some people that came to church yesterday and went home the same way they were when they came. Is it possible to be in a place where God is and not change? You better believe it. Can you read this Bible and God not be there? He's on every page. He's on every column. He's in every verse. People read the Bible and never change. Listen, you can be where God is and never change. God and Moses were in the same spot, but that is not the only reason why Moses changed. Look at me in the text in Exodus chapter number three. There was Moses and there was God. But notice what the Bible says in verse number three. Moses said, I will now turn aside and see this great sight while the bush is not burnt. Now look at verse number four. And when the Lord saw that he, what? Turned aside to see, God called him out of the midst of the bush and said, Moses. Now listen to me now. God was on the backside of the desert? Yes, he was. Moses was on the backside of the desert? Yes, he was. God and Moses were in the same place? Yes, they were. they were, but God never worked on Moses, God never changed Moses, God never dealt with Moses until Moses stopped what he was doing, broke away from his agenda, knew that nothing else that he was doing was more important. When Moses set aside his mechanics, set aside his own plans, set aside everything else he was engaged with and said, God is here, but God won't change me even though He's here until I turn aside and behold Him. And I'll tell you tonight on a Monday night what's wrong with us. We're too busy. We're too caught up in sports and politics and life and our dreams and our plans and our activities and our bills and our finances and our families and our fads and our trends and our status quo and our own reputations. And I'm not saying those things aren't important, but I'm telling you on a Monday night right here in the Lynchburg area, there's nothing more important than Almighty God. And I'm asking you for the next few moments of not just tonight, but this revival, would you break away from your agenda? Would you break away from everything going on in your life? Would you break away from what happened before you got here, from what's going on afterwards, from your school tomorrow, from your job tomorrow, from your bills, from all of your problems, from all of your burdens, from all of your difficulties? Would you set aside your plans and your dreams and your goals and your ambitions and your preoccupations and would you get enamored? with a God that's in this building tonight? Would we stop and turn aside? See, the Bible says when God saw that Moses turned aside, God worked. Could I ask you a question? Do you believe that God can do a work in your heart tonight if you'll turn aside? And let's give him a chance. Let me give you several factors tonight in Moses turning aside and beholding the bush. Number one, the confining preparation in Moses. Now God had to get him alone. I said God had to get him alone. Notice the significance of activity. Verse number one, Moses kept the flock. Moses led the flock. Moses came to the mountain of God. For all of you English scholars, the word kept, led, and came, each one of those is an action verb. That means Moses was active, he was busy, he was doing what he could where he was. He wasn't in the palace, he wasn't with the Pharaoh, he didn't have some fancy job, he didn't have a lot of crowd around him, but he was where he was, doing what he could. Can I ask you a question tonight? What in the world makes you think God's gonna work with you if you're not doing what you can? I said there is significance in activity. God give us in these last days, before Jesus comes, some people that'll say, I may not have everything I want, I may not be everywhere I want to be, I may not have everything I want in life, but whatever God has me, I'm gonna do whatever God has me. what I can, where I am. The significance of activity. Notice the stigma of anonymity. What do you mean stigma? Anonymity has a stigma. It means there's a negative connotation with being anonymous. That means being anonymous when a bunch of people don't know you, the world considers that to be a bad thing. I'm gonna tell you that's a stigma. In Moses' life, the best thing could have happened to him in Exodus chapter three was to be where nobody knew him. Watch this now. He grew up in the palace. He grew up with Pharaoh's daughter. He grew up with all of the riches of the world. And his biggest mistake happened when he had everything at his fingertips. It wasn't until God swung him to the backside of the desert where God got Moses to realize, Moses, it ain't all about a silver spoon. It ain't all about a palace. It ain't all about having power. Moses, if you're ever gonna do something great in life, it's got to be all about me. Maybe God has us tonight in a position in our lives, maybe He's got you going through a trial, a difficulty, a burden, a struggle, a crisis, to let you know you don't need what you want. You don't need the things in life that you think are the best. You don't need to be popular. You don't need that job you may have wanted. You don't need that dream you may have planned. Maybe God wants you anonymous. Sometimes you've got to go when nobody knows your name so you can know the one name that matters. Notice the strength of aloneness. He was by himself. Thank God for church. Thank God for groups. Thank God for holding our hands and joining hearts together. But I want to tell you, you are only as strong with God as you are by yourself. And it troubles me that most Christian people feel awkward when alone with God. Moses in Exodus chapter 3? Just him and God? Do you have any time with God alone? When you get up in the morning, before you get around your friends, before you call your girlfriend, before you get on the phone with your boy, before you check your social media, before you go to school, before you go to work, before you turn the television on and let all those people feed that stuff, I'm asking you, how is your time alone with God? Listen, you wanna be big, great Moses in front of two million Jews, you better learn to be little Moses in front of big God. The confining preparation, notice. Secondly, the captivating presence. See, when God got Moses alone, then God could show himself to Moses. Notice the Bible says, verse number two, the angel of the Lord appeared. This angel of the Lord phrase in the Bible really is a picture of God. God in the form of an angel. This is not just like Gabriel or Michael. This is what we call a Theophanes or Christophanes. This is the angel of the Lord. This is actually Christ before he came to earth or a picture of God in the form of an angel. So this wasn't just any angel there, that God was there on the backside of the desert. And he appeared unto him in a flame out of the midst of a bush. Now listen, Moses had seen flames and Moses had seen bushes, but Moses had never seen a flame on a bush that wouldn't get burned up. That's what he was saying. He said, I understand that Bush is burning, but I don't understand why he won't burn up. And so all of a sudden, there was an intriguing appearance. When Moses looked at that bush, and it kept burning and burning and burning and burning and burning and burning and burning, but it just wouldn't wither away. It just wouldn't be consumed. It drew him to him. Watch this now. It drew Moses to the bush. And the draw of that bush was because of the distinctiveness of that. Look at Peter and I, church. Can I tell you something? When you get a good look at God, you know what you're gonna find out? He's distinct. You know what you're gonna find out? He draws you to himself. I worry about these people saying, I don't read the Bible, it's boring. You know what I find out? They ain't never read it. I don't like God. God's boring. You know why I find I ain't never been around God? Because ain't nothing boring about God. Ain't nothing boring about the Bible. Come on now. What do you call boring where a man and his family get on a big old boat and build it for 120 years and the rest of the world dies? That ain't boring. What are you calling boring where God sends down fire and brimstone and destroys a city? What do you call boring where a man gets swallowed up by a whale for three days and three nights and gets vomited up and runs and goes and preaches to a town? What do you call boring where God takes five loaves of two fish and feed 5,000 men beside women and children? What do you call boring when the lame men start walking and the mute men start talking and the deaf men start hearing and the blind men start seeing and the willing hand gets restored and the leper gets cleansed and the debtor gets forgiven and the water turns into water? What do you call boring when Jesus wakes up out of his sleep without a cup of coffee or a hot and shower or a cold rag on his face and gets up like he never went to sleep and tells the wind and the water to hush and they obey him. You call that boring? What do you call boring when the moon stands still and the sun turns red and scorpions come out of here? What do you call boring when Jesus goes up to a 12-year-old girl who's dead and says, Talitha Kuma, and she sits back up? When a woman with a 12-year issue of blood touches the hem of his garment And she said, what do you call boring when a man coming out the tomb sleeping naked, running around with chains on him, with all kinds of demons in him, and Jesus fixes him so good he got clothes on, sitting down, and in his right mind? What do you call boring when a donkey is talking to a prophet? I'm telling you, don't you tell me the Bible's boring. If you'd read it, you'd find out it wasn't boring. I'll tell you, it'll beat Steven Spielberg, it'll beat Mr. Rogers, it'll beat Walt Disney, it'll beat ESPN, CNN, Discovery Channel, HBO, Cinemax, and anything else. Ain't nothing like the Bible. You get a good look at God, he'll draw you in, amen. I wonder if you've seen him today. There's an intriguing appearance of God that draws him in. And all of a sudden, that intriguing appearance makes Moses move closer. And from the intriguing appearance, watch this now, Moses gets an individual address. I like this. He goes, what's going on in that bush? So he moves closer, closer to the bush. And when he gets up close to the bush, he hears something unique. His own name. Moses, Moses. Look, look, he didn't get up to the bush and all of a sudden he got up close and the bush said, yo. The bush didn't say, hey y'all. The bush didn't say, bro. The bush didn't say, beloved. The bush didn't say, body of Christ. The bush didn't say, anybody out there. The bush called his name. You know what I found out? You get close enough to God, he'll call you by name. God help us. We're raising a generation of young people, they know how to go to church, they know all the rules, they know the songs, they know what you're supposed to do as a Christian, but They've never learned God close enough that they've heard him call their name. Listen, when I was a nine-year-old boy, I didn't learn God wanted me to preach just because my daddy was a preacher or my mama said my head was shaped like a preacher. No, no, no, no, no. I'll tell ya, I started preaching at a nine-year-old boy in a fourth-grade classroom because I could hear God call my name. You want revival tonight? You get close enough. Listen, some people ain't close enough, preacher. to stand on the distance, sit on the seashore, listen to Jesus tell these little stories, these wonderful parables. It's a wonderful day in the neighborhood with Jesus. Listen to me. You can listen to Jesus tell stories all day long if you want to, but if you really want him to use you, get up close enough he can call your name. The individual address, the intriguing appearance, the indescribable aura. What an amazing thing when Moses got there. I'm God, he says. The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob. Moses, Moses, you're not on American Idol. Moses, you're not on America's Got Talent. No, no, no. Moses, you're not at the White House. No, no, no. You're not at some fancy ball. No, no, no, no. You're in the presence of God. God help us that when we get around God, we act like he's God and not like the big daddy upstairs. Can you see Moses hearing his name and running towards God like a kid in a candy store and God stopping in the middle of his sprint and say, hold up, buddy. Take your shoes off. You may run at other people like that, but I'm not other people. You may keep your shoes on when you go other places, but I'm not other places. You know what I found out? We've lost our awe of God. Young people don't evolution. Don't come to church so much that you forget who you're coming to see. Don't open your Bible so much that you forget who's talking. Don't sing those songs that you forget who you're singing them about. Don't stand up in the choir so many times that you forget whose choir it actually is. Drop your money in the offering plate and act like you're just doing a favor for some charity organization out on the street. Let's not forget tonight. You're not in the presence of some greatness right up here. It ain't about my preaching. It ain't about this pastor. It ain't about this church. We came tonight on a Monday night because somebody said God is in the house. Are you in awe tonight? The confining preparation, the captivating presence, notice thirdly the commissioning purpose. He's got his attention. He's got Moses, look at me tonight. Does God have your attention? See, it took confining preparation, it took a captivating presence to set Moses up for a commissioning purpose. See, everybody wants purpose, but look, look, look, look, you can't get purpose unless you get preparation and presence first. Let me do something for you, God. Let me do something for you, God. I want to do great things for God. You can't do great things for God until God gets you alone first. Come on now. You can't do great things for God until you realize who God is. See, you can't do witness the verb until you are witness the noun. Some of you missed that. See, a whole bunch of you trying to witness as the verb, but you're not a witness as the... You can't get up on the stage, you can't get up on the stand and tell somebody what you saw if you weren't there to see it. Somebody help me preach. Now, how are you going to tell the world about a God you don't spend any time with? How are you going to bring somebody to Jesus when you don't know where Jesus is? How you gonna shout about somebody you never spend any time with? How you gonna teach somebody the Bible you never read the Bible? God help us. It starts with confining preparation. It continues with a captivating presence. And then God shows us his commissioning purpose. In other words, Moses, I want to tell you why I brought you to the backside of this desert. I want to tell you why I let you see this bush. I want to tell you what job I have for. Do you think God brought us here to revival tonight just so we can leave here and say we were in the building, check off a box, punch the clock, and get a little religion so we can feel good about our week, so that when we mess up later on in the week, we got some good to outweigh our bad? No. They brought us here because in 2024, there are a bunch of people out there wandering around with no purpose, no direction, aimlessly. They're killing themselves. They're messing their lives up. They're ruining their marriages. They're throwing away their future. We look at them and we think they're crazy, but they're not crazy. They just don't have a purpose. God brought you here on a Monday night to tell you you're not here just to breathe in oxygen. You're not here just to make it out the bed and back to the same bed. So why make the bed since I'm sleeping back in it tonight again? No, no, no, no. God brought you here because he set you on planet Earth for a purpose. And I'm finding out, most people don't know their purpose. I was preaching at a church earlier this week, last week on Thursday and Friday. And a man said to me Friday night, I missed Thursday, he said, because we went with my son to a funeral because one of his best friends, a teenage boy, killed himself. And we can get up here and come up with all our philosophies. and self-deputize ourselves into being, some scholars, oh, selfish self, took his life, wasn't thinking about anybody. You know what? It's easy to diagnose someone as being selfish for committing suicide, but some of them think that the best thing for other people is if they were not there. I'll tell you what brings a person made in the image of God to the point he doesn't want to live anymore, because it doesn't have any purpose. You may not be at the brink of suicide, but I can tell you one thing. You certainly aren't living with any fulfillment if you don't have any purpose. Notice the commissioning purpose. God gives Moses a revelation of the sovereign mind. Look at verse number seven of Exodus chapter three. And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people. I want you to picture Moses getting up close to God and hearing something like this. See, from sitting where I'm sitting tonight, I can't hear your heartbeat. But if I laid my head on your chest, I could. You know why you can't hear God's heartbeat? You ain't close enough. He said, what does God's heartbeat sound like? I'll tell you what it sounds like, verse seven and eight. I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters. I know their sorrow. I'll tell you what the heartbeat sounded like to Moses. He got up close enough to God and said, I'll tell you what bothers me, Moses, is that I got people down in Egypt who are hurting. I got people down in Egypt that are going through sorrow. I've got people down in Egypt that are in bondage. I've got people down in Egypt that are enslaved. I'll tell you what my heart beats for Moses. It beats for people who need to be set free. I'll tell you what's wrong with the Church of the Living God today. We are so full of ourselves. We are so stuck up. We are so self-absorbed. We come in for a little hour or so of church and we think we're better than the rest of the world. Some of the most pharisaical people I know on planet earth are saved people going to heaven who could care less about who's going to hell. Stop telling me, Pharisee, that you hang around God and you never have a burden for people. You hang around God, I'll tell you who God's heart beats for, the homeless guy who doesn't know it, the drunk who can't get off of that alcohol, that crackhead who thinks his best thing in life, those drugs, that teenage boy who's slitting his wrist, or that girl who wants to take her life away, that orphan who thinks there's nothing to life but just going out there, that blue, red, green hair, person who doesn't realize that there's a God in heaven that loves him, you can sit there and look down your nose and talk about how you'd never pierce your body, or you'd never dye your hair that way, or you'd never slit your wrist, but were it not for the grace of God, that's exactly where you'd be tonight. God, give us some people who will get close enough to God to hear that if a holy God cares about them, unholy us should too. That's what's wrong with the church. We keep condemning people for not coming, but we've never thought about going and getting them. Somebody's got to go pick these kids up and bring them. Teenager, don't you grow up privy to teen camp, teen conference, teen service. You fellas and girls singing in that choir tonight, thank God you're singing. But the closer you get to God, you know what he's saying, some of your friends out there need to be singing too. Where's our burden? Moses, you're not gonna hang on this backside of the desert forever. You're going back to Egypt, buddy. A revelation of a sovereign mind. That's what happens when you get close to God. That's what his purpose is. It's the revelation of a sovereign. When you get close enough to God, he starts telling you stuff that's on his mind. Ask Abraham. Genesis chapter 18. I'm getting ready to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. Guess who he told about it before he ever did it? Abraham. Hey listen, you wanna get close enough to God, he shares his secrets with you? Get up off the pew and do a little bit more than just come to church. Get in your Bible and say, God, I don't just wanna hear the preacher tell me about you. I'm gonna get up close to you myself. The revelation of a sovereign mind. Guess what happened on top of that? The reality of selection to ministry. The revelation of a sovereign mind. God said, I'm gonna tell you what I'm thinking, Moses. Okay. Most probably drinking Kool-Aid right about now. Boy, it's pretty neat that God tells me his secrets. Wow, God, thank you for letting me know what's on your mind. But God didn't stop there. I'm not just gonna tell you what's on my mind. Guess what, Moses? I'm gonna assign you to fix it. Be careful. You get close enough to God to know his business. That's one thing. But he ain't just gonna tell you his business. He gonna tell you to do something about it. And that's when the reluctance of the servant to move came up. It's almost like, wow, God, ooh, backstage passes. I love it. I get to go backstage and hear the special details about God's mind. This is elite. And God goes, yes, I'm gonna show you stuff nobody's ever seen before. Ooh, I'm the man. It's my birthday. Oh yeah. And then God says, yeah, yeah, yeah. But the more you know, the more you're responsible for. See, see, see, you're really elite if you come to church on a Monday night. I mean, you one of them real good deep down Christians. I mean, I recommend we go to Chick-fil-A tomorrow night and get all of y'all a cookie for coming here tonight. And I recommend we serve it warm. But here's the thing, the more elite you are, the more he expects out of you. See, see Moses, once you know my mind, You're on the hook to do something about it. And then he comes with excuses. I can't speak. then God comes from a confining preparation, captivating presence, a commissioning purpose, to number four, to a confirming power. See, God's power has to confirm us when we start making excuses about what we can't. Isn't it amazing how God is smart enough to know our name, but too dumb to know whether or not we can do a job? can't, can't, can't, can't, can't, speak. I like how God talked to him. Who made your mouth? Huh? Oh yes, there comes an exclamation of God's supreme existence. Moses started telling God everything he wanted. I'm not eloquent, I'm not smart, I'm not capable, I'm not mighty, I'm not strong. Well listen, this is what we all do in 2024. I'm not rich enough, I'm not talented enough, I'm not holy enough, I'm not gifted enough, I'm not skilled enough, I'm not resourced enough, I'm not capable enough. And here comes God with the smackdown. I am that I am. Whatever you're not, God says, I am. Come on, what you been telling God you can't do? Come on, listen to me. What has your silly self been instructing God about? I mean, just listen to how that sounds. I instructed God yesterday. Do you know how stupid that sounds? How are we gonna instruct God? But we do, don't we? How many times has God told us that we say, God, do you really think about that? God, you might want to go back and rethink. You might want to close your mouth. That's right. The elimination of sense excuses, the enabling of a successful execution. It's all in the text. It took me about eight weeks to teach this series. I'm just giving you the overview tonight. God just wiped out his excuses. Oh, you're not gonna be able to do it? Uh-huh. See where God wills, God pays the bill. See where God guides, God always provides. See, God don't send you on nothing unless he's already made the plan. Listen, listen, listen. He said, oh, you can't make it? Guess what? I'll give you my presence, I'll give you my provision, and I'll give you my protection. So when I tell you to do something, don't be telling me you can't do it, because I've already mapped it out, factored it out, budgeted out and planned it out. Now you listen to Nike, just do it, amen. Well, let's all be honest tonight. Don't we find ourselves making excuses? I don't want to witness to that person, clearly they're of another religion. That's why you need to witness to them. You don't witness to people who are already saved, dummy. I'm talking to all of us. Sometimes we just need to look in the mirror. He says, a lot of dummies in this world. Yeah, look in the mirror. We're the dummies. Lastly, I'm finished. There's a convincing picture here and I'm done. What a story. A bush. This story's about a bush. Here's the thing, what's great about a bush? Nothing. Would you ever walk up to a bush and say, would you sign my Bible, bush? Any of you kids ever grew up and said, when I grow up, I want to be a bush. That's the story. The bush is a picture of the meagerness of sinful creatures. You know who the bush is a picture of in Exodus 3? You and me. Nothing great about us, is it? There's nothing great. That's what this story is showing us. A bush. Nothing. Just meager, sinful creatures. Ain't nobody in here. Look, listen. We got some dressed up bushes in here. We got some pruned bushes in here. We got some watered bushes in here. We put little berries on some bushes in here. We got some prickly bushes in here. We got some green bushes. We got some white bushes. We got some black bushes. We got some yellow bushes. We got some mixture of all of these bushes. But at the end of the day, guess what? We're all just a bush. But there's fire in this story. Oh, now that is impressive. The bush, bush. But fire, fire can do something. Hey listen, listen. Let anything catch on fire and see won't people come out the house. Some of them don't even look at what they had on when they ran out the house, but they're out there. Now they're not looking at the fire, they're looking at you. Because fire gets our attention. Now watch this now. Look at the bush, the meagerness of sinful creatures. But look at the fire, the magnitude of a supreme creator. See, the bush is a picture of you and me, but the fire is a picture of God. See, when I look at that bush, I see nothing, but when I look at that fire, I see everything. But here's the story. The story's not just about a bush and a fire. The story's about fire on the bush. You listening? The bush, the meagerness of sinful creatures, the fire, the magnitude of a supreme creator. Watch this now. The fire on the bush. The miracle, listen, the miracle of shared cooperation. You don't miss this and I'm done. Put me by myself, I'm nothing. Put God by himself, he's everything. Watch this now. Put me, nothing. With God. We can do something for him. I'm 28 years into this preaching on the road thing. I'm 36 years into preaching, period. And I'm still trying to figure out why that fire wants to be on this bush. See, see, God didn't bring us here tonight just to have church. Turn aside. Can you see him? I'm talking to all of us. In just a moment, we're gonna have the invitation time. You're gonna have to make a decision whether you're gonna come up here and do your little thing or you're gonna come up here and see the bush and let him burn on you. You can't do anything without him. He can do everything without us. But when he gets on us, we can do something for him. Heads bowed, eyes closed. Father, help us. Could ask you a couple questions tonight. How many say, preacher, I'm saved, I'm going to heaven, and I know it? I'm saved, I'm going to heaven, and I know it. Put your hand up. I'm saved, I'm going to heaven, and I know it. God bless you. Put your hands down. Then let me ask you this. How many say, I'm going to heaven, and I put my hand up a minute ago, but I'm going to tell you right now. I'm so busy, I'm so active, I'm so preoccupied. Tonight, I need to see God. I need to see the bush. I need to see God for who he is. Come on, put your hand up all over the building. Bless you. In just a moment, I'm gonna ask you to get up and come. You don't have to come for a long time. I'm at, listen, this revival, right? How are we gonna get revival? We're gonna have revival just because we scheduled a revival? That's like saying I'm a doctor because I went to the hospital and I pulled in a parking space that said medical doctor. You're a doctor because you practice medicine. You have a revival because you actually experience God. Last question. How many might say, Preacher, I'm not sure if I died today I'd go to heaven, but I'm sure I don't want to go to hell. Pray for me. Would you slip your hand up? Anybody like that? I'm not sure if I died today I'd go to heaven, but I'm sure I don't want to go to hell. Anybody like that? Anybody? Now look up here just with me for a second. I'm gonna pray, and in a moment I'm gonna ask you to stand, then I'm gonna pray, and as soon as I pray, the piano's gonna start playing, and when she hits the first note, I'm talking to everybody serious. Look at me, all the way to the back, all the way to the front, all the way to the right, all the way to the, I'm talking about every serious person said, I want revival tonight, but I gotta stop what I'm doing. I gotta break away from my, your agenda may not have been to come to this altar tonight, but if God's in the building, forget your agenda, Turn aside. Leave your plans till after service. Let's see what's going on with this bush. He's got something to tell you. But he ain't gonna tell you till you get close. God never spoke till Moses turned. Maybe it's your time to take a move, make a move. So I'm not into manipulating invitations, trying to talk people into, I've seen preachers work the crowd and get everybody to the altar. That's just foolishness. I'm not going to do that. The big preacher was preaching while I was preaching. And he told you stuff I didn't even talk about. If he moved in your heart, You come when she says, plays the first note. Let's stand together. Lord, I ask you to control this invitation right now, right now, for every serious person. I pray that all of these that put their hand up would respond. Please, God, in Jesus' name, amen. The piano has started playing. You put your hand up, would you come? Come on. Oh, bless you. Amen. Wow. You come stand or kneel, whatever's physically convenient for you. God's not gonna be upset if you stand, if that's easy, or sit, whatever's easier for you. Do whatever's best for you. Just say, God, dominate my mind. She's going to sing if she sings, you listen. And pray and talk to God as long as you need to. Don't think about anything else tonight. God, I'm tired of having you compete for my attention. It's amazing that verse says, and when God saw that he turned aside, he called him. Moses, I want your attention. I don't want to be one of your focuses. I want to be your only focus. She's gonna sing one more verse. He wants to tell, can you hear your name tonight or is this just some big group message? Is he talking to you individually? You pray till you're done and take your seat whenever you feel. There's no pressure in this building to do anything than what God told you to do. Hasn't he been good? What a joy to see the altar full tonight. Don't we want these kids to know that God can talk to them by name? You pray as long as you need to. markers of the mercies I have known. I know it may sound simple, but it's more than I can explain. There's no other words to tell you than to say God's been good in my life. I've been lesbian on the wildest streets, and I could see me shine. And though I've had my share of hard times, by my side he's always stood. ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ Yeah, I've been working some crosses ♪ ♪ And I've never more joy to learn ♪ ♪ As His grace built in upon me ♪ ♪ Understood ♪ ♪ God's been good in my life ♪ ♪ I've been blessed beyond my wildest dreams ♪ ♪ As I could not sleep each night ♪ ♪ And though I've had my share of hard times ♪ ♪ By my side He's always stood ♪ ♪ Through it all, God has been good to me ♪ ♪ And though I've had my share of hard times ♪ It all comes back to me. I'm looking back upon these winding roads To the old familiar markers Of the mercies I had known I know it may sound sensual But it's more than I can explain There's nowhere to tell you than to say In my life, I've been blessed beyond my wildest dreams, as I go to sleep each night. And though I've had my share of hard times, by my side He's always stood, He's through it all. Amen, praise the Lord. God is faithful, amen? God is good. Thank y'all so much for coming tonight. Looking forward to tomorrow, Brother Kenny. Tremendous message and I'm thankful the Lord used you tonight, God, to speak to us and what a blessing. If I could just be seated here for just a moment.