| *from Paster Billy Lile's sermon on 4/11
"Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock byond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. Then Moses said, "I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up." When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of hte bush, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am." Then he said "Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground." He said futher, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God."
Exodus 3:1-6
God requires us to turn aside from the business of our daily lives to seek Him. Many times, we are "too busy" to turn aside and see the 'burning bush' (little ways God shows us that He is there) that God provides. Moses was tending sheep at that time, and he probably thought "God, I'm busy now! Why now? I'm counting sheep for my father. Why not at night when I'm bored and counting stars? Why call me when I am busy?"
but God should be First in our lives. we need to set aside a time and place to seek God everyday. "burning bushes" happen everyday. we get signs from God everyday, but we don't recognize them. we think "must be coincidence." or we're too busy to even look and think if its God.
anyway.. so God called on Moses. but then God told him "dont come any closer." so Moses is thinking "what? God, first you call me? and then you tell me don't come any closer. I don't get it. make up Your mind!" ...so many times, we are in Moses' shoes. we think "God calls me but I can't get any closer. what does God want from me?"
but God told Moses to take off his sandals for it was holy ground. Sandals represent anything that hinders our relationship with God: lust, greed, envy, adultery, sloth, gluttony, etc etc... and God wants us to take of these 'sandals' before we can approach Him. and we have many sandals.. i mean, some girls have a whole closet full!
sometimes, we are hesitant to take off these sandals. we are so attached to them. "No, God! I can't take off these sandals yet! I just bought them! They're GUCCI!" and that's exactly what the devil wants. The devil wants you to be attached your sandals (worldy things) so that you cannot come closer to God. but we need to have it in our heart to take off these sandals, and the Church can help. No, the Church cannot FORCE YOU to take off these sandals.. they can't take it off if you're over there resisting and telling the Church "no, not yet! these are louis vuitton sandals. i paid so much for them!" the Church will get down on hands and knees to help you remove them..but you have to help yourself remove them first.
sometimes we WANT to take off these sandals because it's too tight. it doesnt fit our foot, and its cutting off your circulation. the worldy things we hold on to are cutting us off from LIVING life (not just ExIsTiNg). but it's hard to take off our sandals sometimes.. so that's why we need to to turn to the Church or to people who have God in their lives--because they can help us to remove these sandals.
and God knows that we're human. God knows that we fall to temptation and that we sin. God knows how many sandals we have... He doesn't expect us to magically get rid of our closetful of sandals all at once. He knows that we need to remove these sandals one at a time.
and you wonder, how do u know which sandal to remove first? let God help you decide. But first, we need to take that time to turn aside from our daily activities, and seek God to figure out what He wants us to do. It is not enough that we merely turn aside to look at God, He desires to have a lifelong relationship with us. It is not enough to BELIEVE, we need to FOLLOW Him. Even the DEVIL believes in God, but the devil doesn't follow God. So do you want to be a follower, or just a believer?
|
KIDDING... lol