Dr Charles Stanley - Hearing God's Voice

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:05):
Sometimes people will say, well, you know, I've read the Bible,
but I just don't seem to understand it. I would
read it more often if I understood it. Well. What
I'd like to do is, in this passage of scripture,
give you an idea how to get more out of
whatever you're reading in the world of God, because oftentimes
we read it a little quickly and we think, well,

(00:29):
God out and tell me exactly what I need to
know right now. And I want you to turn, if
you will, to the third chapter of Exodus, and I'll
give you a little idea what's happened before the passage
we're going to read. You'll recall that Moses kill an
Egyptian and as a result, he spent forty years on

(00:54):
the other side of the desert from Egypt and became
a herdsman, and so he had a great downfall in
his life. So now this passage of scripture begins with
Moses was pasturing the flock of Jethro, his father in law,
the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to

(01:16):
the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb,
the Mountain of God or Mount Sinai, and then you
know the part about the burning bush and how God
worked in his life and how suddenly he saw and
heard and felt something that absolutely changed his life. So
I want us to look at what happened to him,

(01:38):
and I want us to look at it in light
of how you and I read the scripture and not
just a matter of what it says, but how do
we read the scripture? And because the question you and
I always want to answer is God, what are you
saying to me? You know, I can read any part
of this Bible. If I'm just reading it externally and
have no heart in it, most of it wouldn't make

(02:01):
sense at times. But I want you to understand how
to read the Bible. Read a narrative that you could say, well,
I've read that before and I know what happens. But
the big question is what happened to you when you
read it? What did God say to you? What happened
to you? And most people don't read the Bible with

(02:22):
that in mind. They're looking for something for God to
say something to them. But the question is what is
God saying to you in that passage? So remember Moses
is on the back side of the desert forty years ago,
he killed an Egyptian. He'd been banished, and he's herding sheep. Now,

(02:44):
I think any of us would learn something within forty years,
and so here he is doing what he never would
have dreamed he would have been doing. And so the
first word I want you to write down is the
word surprise. He'd been there forty years, and all of
a sudden he sees this bush that's burning, yet it's

(03:07):
not consumed. Naturally, it frightens him. Naturally, he doesn't understand it.
He's seen a lot of bushes burn, but not like this.
And as he stood there, God spoke to him in
a very special way. This is a total surprise to Moses.
Sometimes when you and I reading the Word of God,

(03:28):
God has surprises to us. He'll say something that you
weren't looking for, that you didn't expect, you didn't anticipate,
and you didn't think you needed to hear it. But
God said something to you in a very special way.
So he certainly said something very special to Moses. The
second word is personal. If you read the Word of

(03:51):
God only as a narrative, and you sort of exclude
yourself from the environment, and you're just talking about something
that happened years ago. You'll miss God's personal message in
your life. So we read it, asking the question, God,
what are you saying to me? And in this particular passage,
after God having dealt with him at the Burning Bush,

(04:15):
I want you to think about this, he says in
the tenth verse, and I'll read a few verses. Therefore,
come now, and I will send you to Pharaoh so
that you may bring my people, the sons of Israel,
out of Egypt. But Moses said to God, who am I?
That I should go to Pharaoh and that I should
bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt. And he said, certainly,

(04:39):
I will be with you, and this shall be a
signed to you that it is I who have sent you.
When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you
shall worship God at this mountain. So he's in this setting.
Now God has spoken to him. So the next word
I want you to jot down this specific. God doesn't

(05:02):
speak in generalities. Everything about that is specific. God says, therefore,
I will send you, and you are to bring my people,
the sons of Arsenal out of Egypt. And so naturally
he has a question. Think about this when you read
the word of God. Do you read it with God's

(05:24):
message to you in mind is very specific. He said,
I have a mission for you forty years in the
backside of the desert. Now God is speaking to him,
and the fourth word, I want you to jot down
his encouragement. Because any time God gives us a word
of something he wants us to do or how to

(05:45):
do it, oftentimes he gives us a word of encouragement
because he knows we need it. So when I think
about that, I look at this tenth verse. Therefore, come now,
and I will send you to Pharaoh so that you
may bring my people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.
It was a word of awesome encouragement. Think about this.

(06:07):
That was his idea forty years ago when he killed
one Egyptian. He had the wrong means, wrong time, Everything
about it was wrong. And now forty years later there
God says, all right, you're ready, and so he says,
I'm going to send you to Pharaoh so that you
may bring my people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.

(06:28):
But Moses said to God, who am I? Who am I?
That I should go to Pharaoh and that I should
bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt. And so
the words encouragement because oftentimes God will say something to
us in his word, and usually he prefaces it, sometimes

(06:49):
of encouragement, sometimes afterwards. But God always wants us not
only to listen, but to believe when he's speaking to it.
You said, well, I don't know if anybody God spoken
to what I believe him. We believe God speaks to
us because he is God, and because he's a God
of love. And how does he encourage us? He doesn't
just encourage us by giving us things. That's what most

(07:12):
people think. Well, look how wonderful God is. Look what
he gave me. Well what about the time you were sick?
What about the time you were going through a difficult
and hardship and pain, sovereign loss. Did God love you? Then?
Yes he did. So what I want you to say
is in these narratives there's truth, the things that God
wants to say to us that oftentimes we overlook. So

(07:34):
that fourth word is encouragement, and then the fifth word
is serious. This is serious business. The burning bush was
God's way of miraculously getting Moses attention, attention from anything
and everything else that he had ever thought of, and

(07:55):
reminding him that he's the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,
and that God is still there, that he hadn't left
him in forty years, though he is suffering from the
result of doing things his way. And so what does
he say? He says, therefore, coming, I will send you
to Pharaoh. Moses said to him, who am I? Certainly

(08:19):
I will be with you. God says, what an encouragement word?
That is listen to that. He didn't just say I'm
going to be with you. He said, certainly, that is
resting this. Make sure you know this. I will be
with you. And this shall be the sign to you
that it is I who brought you the people out
of Egypt. You shall worship God in this mountain. God

(08:42):
always wants to watch this carefully. He wants us to
understand when he's speaking to us. Well, can God speak
to us anywhere any time? Yes, he could, But I
think God wants to speak to us. Oftentimes we're not listening,
but our minds are on other things. Our attention is
on other things. God loves you, Jesus died for you,

(09:06):
and God intends for you to listen to him because
he has something to say to you. Nobody's beyond the
voice of God because he's always calling, always to get
our attention, and so little by little he speaks to Moses.
So what did God do to get his attention? He

(09:27):
started a fire in this bush that was not consumed.
He knew exactly how to get Moses attention. He was
a herdsman. He'd seen lots of bushes, he'd been in
lots of situations, but he'd never seen a bush burn
that was not consumed in the burning. Now listening carefully.
Sometimes God may say something to you, show you something,

(09:53):
send you somebody, do something in your life that you
know that it has to be God. How many times
have I heard people say, well, you know, I wondered,
but I had to be God, had to be God.
Why it was something unusual? God spoke through a person
that maybe you don't even like, or he did something
in your life that you didn't particular like. He took

(10:14):
something away from you or gave you something, but he
got your attention. God always wants our attention. He wants
our attention because He is speaking to us. He wants
the best for us. He'll God as if we listen
to him. But if I'm not listening and paying no attention,
I'm not going to follow the will of God. So
the next word is command. Now, it's wonderful to listen

(10:37):
to God, and it's wonderful to think how wonderful God
is and how gracious and good he is. But when
he gives a command, what does he expect? One word?
What is it? You got it? Obedience? And so listen
to what he said in the tenth verse. He said, therefore,
come now, and I will send you. Now, that's the

(10:58):
part I think, all of a sudden, really got his attention.
It's one thing to see the burning bush. Maybe God's
seeking to somebody. But he said, I'm sending you to Pharaoh. Yes,
Pharaoh in Egypt. The pharaoh that casts you out is dead,
but there's another Pharaoh. I'm sending you to Pharaoh so

(11:18):
that you may bring my people, the sons of Israel,
out of Egypt. Totally unbelievable. How can send send me there?
Send me there to take two million people out of
Egypt when Egypt is armed like an armory. God, I

(11:38):
must I must have misread that. God say that again,
come now, and I will send you to Pharaoh. So
that you may bring my people, the sons of Israel,
out of Egypt. Moses said to God, just what you
and I would say? What would we say? Who am I?
Who am I? That I should go to Pharaoh and
that I should bring the sons of israelud of beship?

(11:59):
That is called you knocked on the wrong door. You have,
you have the wrong person you rank. Somebody's a doll bill,
but not me. I'm a fugitive. I'm an enemy as
far as Egypt is concerned. You listen to God. You
don't put God in the box. When God says I
want to send you somewhere, or I want you to

(12:20):
do something, he means what he says. Now inescapable. Write
that word down, inescapable. When God chooses to do something
in your life, when he chooses to use you in
a certain way, to speak to someone, to win them
to Christ, or to do something to count, whatever it
might be, it's inescapable. That is in the eyes of God.

(12:43):
He doesn't change his mind because you don't like it,
because you think you can't afford it, because you don't
know what somebody will say, or you don't you question
their particular viewpoint. That's not the issue. God says, I'm
going to send you. I'm sending you to Pharaoh. And
when God, listen, when God says this is what I'm

(13:05):
going to do, you don't change God's mind. So the
next word is frightening. You say, well, why you use
the word frightening? Well, verse eleven. But Moses said to God,
who am I? And he said, certainly, I'll be with you,
and this should be the signed to you. It is
I who have sent you when you brought the people

(13:27):
out of Egypt. You should worship God at this mountain.
And so was he frightened? Yes, do you and I
ever have a right to be frightened when God tells
us to do something. I've heard many people say over
the years when God called me to preach, I said,
absolutely not I can. I'm scared to death. I couldn't

(13:48):
stand up in front of anybody. I couldn't remember anything
I know. I'd forget. People are frightened. And so what
was God's answer? This, this is an awesome answer. What
was God's answer? So look in verse thirteen. Then Moses
said to God, behold, I'm going to the sons of Israel,
and I will say to them the God of your

(14:11):
father says, sent me to you. Now they may say
to me, what's his name? This was the answer. Just
tell him I am sent you what I am. Just
tell him that I am who I am. And thus
you shall say to the sons of Israel, I AM
has sent me to you. I AM has sent me

(14:33):
to you. What would you have said to that? Who
is I am the great I am. That's who he is.
He's a sovereign god of the universe. And he introduced
himself to Moses by saying, you tell him that I
am the maker of all things, the One True God

(14:55):
has sent you to free my people out of Egypt.
Now helse could God have said so much? He could
have said, well, I have armies or this, that and
the other. But when he said, tell them that I
am sent you. I am I am who I am,
the sovereign God of the university, in control of all things.

(15:15):
Therefore I sent you. What should that say to him? Well,
first of all, they would understand that. But he said,
that's what you're to say to them. He also made
him a promise. He said, I'm going to send you,
and I'm going to be I'll be with you and this,
This should be a sign to you. So remember this.

(15:36):
Whenever God tells us to do anything, we have the
promise of his assistance, his presence, his power, his his
whatever we need, he's there. God would never send you
empty handed to do a task. And I think oftentimes
God will impress upon our heart to share their faith

(15:58):
with somebody, and we don't do it because we think, well,
we don't know what to say. Well, here's Moses, as
smart as he was after all these years, and what
he said to God? What am I going to tell him?
One thing, if you're a follower of Jesus, you don't
ever have to wonder what to say. I trust that
Jesus Christ is my personal savior. I'm eternally secure in Christ,

(16:23):
covered by the blood of Jesus Christ. You can say
that to anybody when you're witnessing to him. But you've
got to be sure that you can say that you
know the great I am, not I was, but not
a shelby, but I am, that is, the sovereign of
the universe is speaking to you and in your life.

(16:45):
Think about this. When you trust the Jesus Christ is
your personal savior, what happened to you one thing that
happened to you is this. He came into your heart
to dwell, and the Holy Spirit, who now inhabits you
peak through you, has all the answers you and I
need to be obedient to God. He says, I'm going

(17:06):
to be with you. You and I can write this down.
You can write this by this verse. That is that
God will always be with you, no matter where you go,
where he sends you, what goes on in your life.

(17:27):
He says, I will never leave you, nor forsake you.
Have you ever felt forsaken by God? I have once
forsaken by God. Was I believe in then? Yes I was.
But the circumstances I felt forsaken. I knew he hadn't

(17:49):
forsaken me, but I felt it. But I finally also
realized I don't live by my feelings. I live by
the truth, the truth of the Word of God. And
so therefore I could claim his presence. So he made
a promise, I'll be with you. And then here was
his word of assurance to them. He said in verse nineteen,

(18:13):
but I know that the King of Egypt will not
permit you to go except under compulsion. So I will
stretch out my hand, strike Egypt with all my miracles,
which I shall do in the midst of it, and
after that he will let you go. Think about that,
he said, I don't think God would be that clear

(18:34):
to me, Yes he would. I'll tell you how clear
God will be. He'll be clear enough that you understand
what He's requiring of you. God would never tend you
to do something with that happened. You understand how and
reminding you that He will aid you in the process
of word of assurance. Then requirement is another word. Remember

(18:58):
what he said to me the Burning book. What is
his requirement? He said, I want you to take off
your shoes. I want you to recognize your Listen, I
want you to recognize your standing on holy ground, not
on shoe leather, not on sandals, on holy ground. It's
you me, God says, the fire and holy ground. There

(19:20):
is a reason. And so he said take his shoes off. Now.
Once in a while, when God's working in our life,
he'll require something of us, and we thinks foolish. So Lord,
I don't I don't need to do that. If God
tells you to do something that he won't do, he
won't tell you do something wrong. But he may require

(19:40):
you something that appears to be foolish to you. Let's
say if God spoke to my heart about something and
he said to me, I want you to give him
that sport coat. Well, Lord, he's a lot more money
than I have, and besides, it may not feed him.
Give him this, I could argue all day. I may

(20:04):
have twenty spourd codes, so it may be my last one.
But the important thing is we obey God and do
what he says, do as simple as it may be.
And he says to him, what do you say, take
off your shoes, do what I tell you to do.
And many people miss the will of God because before

(20:26):
God brings them to the the thing that will make
a difference in their life, he takes some step. He
takes a step by step. So how do you teach
your children when they are firstborn, they're growing, they learn
simple things. We have to learn to talk to God.
We have to learn to listen to God. We have
to learn to be obedient to God. It's a process.

(20:48):
When you may go through hard times, it doesn't mean
to God doesn't love us. It means that God is
equipping us to be a better servant, equipping us to
understand how to have a personal, intimate relationship with him.
And so he's accomplishing his word very clear. God doesn't
speak in generality. So in the tenth verse, here's what

(21:09):
he said, therefore, having the burning bush experience, come now,
and I will send you to Pharaoh. Listen carefully watch this.
God will never tell you this is what I think
you should do. He's going to speak specifically, clearly, personally,

(21:31):
understandably and in a way, and with the promise that
He'll enable you to do whatever he requires of you.
He says, come now, come now, and I will send you. Well,
that was the hard part. Now, what are the circumstances?
This is how God usually works. Just trust me. How

(21:51):
does God grow us up spiritually? He grows us up
spiritually by testing us with trusting him. He doesn't tell
us to walk out on a gang plank and fall
one hundred feet. He teaches us to trust him by
telling us simple things. And so what does he say?
He says, the only thing you'll have on your side

(22:14):
is what the Great I am, and the I Am
will prove sufficient to set free two million Hebrews and
Egyptian bondage. The Great I Am will do it. And
I just remind you this morning, the great I Am
is living within you. Watch this. We have what he

(22:34):
didn't have at Pentecosts. The Holy Spirit came now when
you trust to Jesus as your savior, the Holy Spirit
of God, the third person of the Trinity, is in
dwelling you, ready to equip you, enable you, instruct you,
encourage you to do whatever God requires of you. And
so God says, here are the circumstances. Then he says,

(22:56):
what's the goal? The goal is real, clear, The goal
is the at my people free. God will never tell
you to do something for which He does not have
a reason, a purpose or goal. And listen carefully that
the sooner you and I are willing and ready and
able to obey Him in simple things, little things, then

(23:21):
what will he do. He will test them with larger things,
and greater tests, and greater tests. But with each one
comes a blessing. Many people live their whole Christian life
miss out on God's best because their faith only got
three feet long when God had intention a mile long.
Trust me for big things, Trust me, trust me for

(23:43):
all that I can do for you. And yet we
limit him because because we can't see our way clear.
He doesn't tell Moses, and here's what you do is
for as long as you can see you way clear. No,
and he said the next words, unforgettable. Here's what I
want you to remember. I am the god of your
father's Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The God of Jacob has

(24:06):
sent me to you. This is my name forever, and
this is my memorial name to all generations. God made
a crystal clear. But it took faith on the part
of Moses to progress and to understand this, because his
last experience in Egypt was running from being persecuted or

(24:29):
in prisons or even killed by Pharaoh. Now he's having
to go back. Unforgettable, unforgettable. I am the God of
your father's. Then his reassuring word. Listen, he says. He says,
I'm going to stretch out my hand in this twenty
thirsts I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt

(24:52):
with all my miracles, which I shall do in the
midst of it, and after that they'll let you go.
God's are some promise, And what's the promise? If you'll
notice in all these passes the promise is his presence,
his wisdom, his power, God's working. If somebody ask you,

(25:14):
does God change? What would you say, Well, most of
you don't have any idea. Let's just think about this
for a moment. Does God change in his character? What
about his power? Does God change in anything? God is omniscient.
He knows all things. He does know some things today

(25:36):
and something tomorrow. So we operate. He knows all things.
He has all power. And when he says, I will
be with you, and he says, here's what I'm going
to do. I know that they gonna let you go.
I'll stretch up my hand and strike Egypt with all
my miracles, which I should do in the midst of it.
And after that he will let you go. I'll let

(26:00):
you go. I will grant this people favor in the
sight of the Egyptians. And it shall be that when
you go, you will not go empty handed. He says. Look,
not only am I not only am I going to
free you, But here's what he'll happen. When you leave,
You're going to have their gold and silver and pots

(26:21):
and pans and everything the Egyptians treasure. You're taking it
with you. Look at this. Every woman shall ask of
her neighbor and the woman who lives in her house
articles of silver, articles of gold clothing, and will put
them on their sons and daughters. Thus you will plunder
the Egyptians. You're going out rich. Everything you wish you had,

(26:44):
that they have, you'll have it. It took a lot
of faith from man in sandals and now in bare
feet to believe that God would use him on all
those Egyptians with all their might and power and chariots
and soldiers, and a bunch of Hebrews heading toward a sea,

(27:10):
across the sea free from Egyptian bondage. Forever. It took faith,
It took obedience to God. Now he said, why do
you list all these words up here? Because I want
you to think about it. When you read a passage
of scripture, ask yourself some questions. Ask yourself some questions God,

(27:32):
what does this say to me? You can ask him anything.
He will share with you what you need to know
to be obedient to him. In other words, God is
so willing to fill us up with himself and to
meet every single need of our life. And will trust him.
And this passage is a wonderful passage about a man

(27:53):
who forty years on the other side of the desert
had nothing. What does that say about forgiveness? But what
does it say about chastisement? What does it say about
being disobedient to God and paying the consequences? There's some
sins that are very, very, very costly. We's put ourselves

(28:14):
in that passage thing. Who would I think? Why was
that burning bush? I'll tell you why. Because Moses would
never have believed out of the blue. We would say
that God would speak to him forty years later as
a mere shepherd and tell him to go back and
meet Pharaoh, challenge him, and then personally lead all of

(28:39):
the Hebrews out of Egyptian bondage without firing a shot.
Nobody believed that, but that's exactly what God did. Well,
you may, knowing your heart, God's been speaking to you
and you've been putting it off. Maybe you're not even
really sure what God is saying. But would you be
willing to say to him today? Lord, I don't know

(29:01):
what you're saying, but I humble myself before you, and
I'll make it my priority to listen to you, quietly,
listen to you until I hear what you want me
to do. If you've never trusted Jesus Christ. As you say,
I can answer that question. He wants you to ask
him to forgive you of your sins, place your trust

(29:22):
in him, rely upon him, and watch him begin to
work in your life things you would never dream of.
You know what God will do far more in your
life than you expect if you will ask him, watch
it carefully, ask him and obey him step by step.

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It all ends up in obeying God, trusting him no
matter what he says, and watch him work. He will
change whatever needs to be changed in your life. If
you'll trust him. Now, you may say what most said,
who am I? I? Thank God loves that. You know
what God loves us asked that question because what we say,

(30:06):
we're asking him, tell me who you are? The great
I am? That's who I am, the great I am.
And He's always willing to answer that question. And then
he's willing to say to us, watch me work. That's
who God is. Amen, Father, We thank him for being
who you are, being patient with us, helping us through

(30:28):
those difficult times. We know that we will never see
a burning bush as Moses saw it. We don't need to.
We don't need a bush. We just need the cross
and what we see at the cross is your love, goodness, mercy, kindness,
generalize to help help. It's all there. We say, thank

(30:49):
you for loving us, thank you for forgiving us, teach
us the truth, teach us how to walk in it,
and teach us how to be obedient. And we pray
that you'll use each of us to bring yourself glory
and honor and Lord, not that we would bring people
out of bondage by the thousands, but one at a time,
with a personal testimony of your grace in our life.

(31:12):
In Jesus' name, Amen, Amen,