God did not leave us here to build our kingdom. He left us here to tell others about the Lord's kingdom and what God wants to do in their life. Exodus chapter number 3. Exodus 3. Let's read at least one or two verses, then we'll jump into our thought. Let's start at verse number 1. Exodus chapter number 3, verse 1, where the Bible says, Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the backside of the desert and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb. And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. And he looked, and behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. And Moses said, I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush is not burned. 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. Now this very famous story, even in the secular realm, they understand that there was a story in the Bible about a burning bush. Very famous, very popular. not just in religion but in the secular world as well. Most people know about Moses and the burning bush. This is when Moses was called of God to be the deliverer of Israel. God is gonna send him back from Midian and go back to Egypt where he was raised and he's gonna deliver, God's gonna use him to deliver the people of God from Egypt. But here in chapter three, as we see this calling of God on Moses' life, and God calling him at the burning bush, I see a beautiful picture that I think we can make great application today for a fundamental Baptist church for us. Right here, as a local church, as a congregation, a body of believers, I think we can make some great application. In fact, here's where I wanna go. I believe that this burning bush that so attracted Moses that he had to go examine the situation and God speaks to him from this burning bush. I'm convinced that this burning bush is a beautiful picture of the local church. I believe this is a picture of what fundamental Baptist church ought to be, needs to be, can be, and is. I believe this burning bush is a beautiful picture of what God has in store for you and I. So just for a moment, I know what time it is. You need to be very glad I know what time it is. I want to preach tonight on the local church as a burning bush, the local church as a burning bush. Now, the local church, like the burning bush, is the place of God. Look at verse number one. Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the backside, watch this, the backside of the desert. and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb, where God meets with Moses, where Moses sees the burning bush. The Bible says it's on the backside of the desert, and he called it here the mountain of God. The mountain of God on the backside of the desert. This is this is God's place This is where God has chosen to meet with Moses and that's exactly what God does with the local church He meets with his people in this place amongst these people God meets with us This is the mountain of God if you will the local church But notice he says the backside of the desert In the business realm, if you were an entrepreneur, you would start a business. They say the three main keys to business and having a good business, having a successful business is location, location, location. But I got good news. That's not how God works. God does not need to be right there on the highway with a big sign. If he puts you there, praise the Lord. You can be out in the middle of the boondocks out in the middle of nowhere. It's not about the location It's about where God is. It's where God wants to meet with his people and brother Ben I guess you notice it's been a while since you've been here You travel a good distance off of that over that highway to get you probably thought am I am I ever gonna get there? We're a long way from that highway But it doesn't matter how close we are to the highway. God's here. God knows exactly where we are, and he wants to meet with us like Moses met with God at that burning bush. So we see the place of God. But we see the local church, like the burning bush, has the presence of God. Look at verse 2. appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush." Right there at that bush, you had the presence of God. And just as God met with Moses and gave him his presence there at that bush, God wants to meet with us. We have his presence here tonight. God is with us. I said the other day, if Brother Jimmy or someone else counts how many people are in here tonight, you're gonna have to add one more, because there is one more, and his name is Jesus. He said, where two or three are gathered in my name, there I'll be in the midst. So as we gather together tonight, we have the presence of God, just like the burning bush. We see the local church, like the burning bush, has the power of God. Look at verse number two and three. We see the bush is on fire, which represents the power of God. Romans chapter 12, verse number 11, Paul said, not slothful in business. Fervent in spirit Serving the Lord and that word fervent being fervent in spirit means red-hot Being on fire for God That's what God's will for your life in my life is to be on fire for God and we see that pictured right here in Exodus chapter number three notice fire Gets people's attention look at verse 2 at the second part of verse 2. He says and He what? he looked and Behold the bird bush burned with fire and the bush was not consumed Moses on the backside of that desert. He saw the bush on fire and the Bible says and he looked and Andy, look, you know what we need here? We need the fervency of our spirit, excited about the things of God. In other words, the old-timers used to say, we need to get fired up. We need to be fired up. We ought to be glad we're saved. We ought to be glad that we don't have to go to hell. We ought to be glad that Jesus is our Savior, that he's taken all of our sins away. As they sang a moment ago, we have so much to thank him for concerning our blessings. God has been so good to us. It shouldn't take much to get us fired up. But fire gets people's attention. It got Moses' attention. And when God is meeting with us here and we have some fired up saints of God, it will get the attention of the community. It'll get their attention. They tell ladies that if you're out and about by yourself and some man attacks you, say whatever you do, don't scream rape. They say scream fire. That's what I say, scream fire. I don't know if it's just the depravity of man, but you scream, I'm being attacked or raped, people will just walk on by. There's something about the word fire. You scream fire, everybody's gonna look and everybody's gonna come. Because it attracts people's attention. Not only does fire get people's attention, fire makes people attracted. Look at verse three. And Moses said, I will now turn aside and see this great sight, while the bush is not burned. You know what Moses was gonna do? He was gonna go over and just see the fire. He didn't know what was going to happen. He didn't realize he was about to have an encounter with God. He didn't realize what he was going to hear, what he was going to see. He didn't realize what was going to happen. He didn't realize how that moment was going to change his life. He just knew there was something going on there. There was something different. He wanted to go see what was going on. And when he got there, God met with him. And Fundamental Baptist Church, if you and I would get filled with the Spirit of God, get excited about the things of God, if we would get fired up, if you will, people will come just to see what God is doing in this place. And when they get here, they'll find out they have met with God. They'll have an encounter with Him. So the local church, as the Burning Bush also has, brings us to our next thought, has the perception of God. In other words, when you get to church, you ought to hear from God. Just as Moses got to this bush, he heard from God. Look at verse number four. And when the Lord saw that he turned his side to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, here am I. He heard from God. And let me say this, I'm gonna chase this real quickly. If that bush isn't on fire, Moses is not gonna check it out. If it's not on fire, Moses is not, it looks like any other bush. It's just another bush on the side of the mountain. But because it was on fire, it got his attention, and then he heard from God. Do we want people in this community to hear from God? Then we got to be on fire. We got to fall in love with Jesus. We got to get holy and pure and sanctified, live right and be thankful how good God has been to us. Excited about the things of God. I'm not talking about a false excitement. I'm not talking about fake it till you make it. I'm talking about a genuine love for Jesus Christ, a genuine desire to see God do something in your life and in the life of others. But he had a perception of God. God, God called unto him because that bush was on fire and he went to see what was going on. But then we see verse number five, the local church, like the burning bush has the purity of God. Look at verse number five. And he said, draw not nigh hither. Put off thy shoes. This is God talking to Moses. Put off thy shoes from off thy feet for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. That means it's ground that's been set apart for God to meet with Moses. And this place has been set apart for God to meet with his people. Now, I'm not saying you gotta take your shoes off. In fact, some of you, I plead with you, don't do that. But we are to come in here with the attitude, this is a holy place. This isn't my house, this is God's house. How you act, how you conduct yourself, and how you treat your house, That's your business. But this is God's house. Let's not come here and act here like we do at our house. Casual, loosey-goosey. Oh, we'll take care of that later. No, this is a holy place. This is a place that's been set apart for the purposes of God, and we must recognize that very thing. It's a pure place. So it says in verse number five, it's holy ground. The church is like the burning bush. But then look at verse number six. Like the burning bush, the local church, in the local church, we see revealed the person of God. Moses is going to learn more about God at this bush. He's gonna learn about his identity, his character, who he is. Look at verse number six. Moreover, this is God talking to Moses. Moreover, he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. He just laid out some truth for Moses. He's letting Moses know, I know who you are, but now you need to know who I am. And Moses hit his face, the Bible says, for he was afraid to look upon God. That sounds like good old-fashioned conviction to me. He's having an encounter with God, and he knows something has got to change. Now look down at verse number 13. We're getting way ahead of ourselves, but we need to see this. Verse 13. And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, when he goes back to Egypt to bring them out, When I come to the children of Israel, and shall say to them, the God of your fathers has sent me unto you, and they shall say to me, what is his name? What shall I say unto them? When they ask me, what is our God's name? What shall I say to them? And God said unto Moses, I am that I am. And he said, thus thou shalt say unto the children of Israel, I am have sent me unto you. He says I am the great I am if you will. I am Jehovah. I am the self-existent one. I'm the ever-present one. You send them back. Let them know I am has said thing. You don't Moses did he got to know who God was at the burning bush. You want God wants people to do a fundamental that his church. He wants them to come here and learn about him. and learn about him, find out who he is. He's the God of gods, he's the king of kings, he's the Lord of lords, he's the savior of the world, and when people come to Fundamental Baptist Church, they ought to expect to find out who God is from the word of God in that burning bush. So we see the person of God at the burning bush just as we should at the local church. But then look at verse number seven. The local church, like the burning bush, should have the passion of God. We get to see a little bit of the heart of God from the burning bush. Look at verse number seven. And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrow. God said, I've heard the cry. I've seen their affliction. I know their sorrows. They need to be delivered. I see them. I've heard them. I'm so glad we have a God that hears the cries of people. Here's the cry of the afflicted. He knows the sorrows of humanity and my friend riding up and down this road I'm this is a busy road. I know it's a country road, but it's a busy country road You sit on the front porch of that house with me sometime and they're just singing up and down The scariest thing you'll ever see is from the side watching people pass somebody else Every time I see I think they're gonna die I'm about to go help somebody out of a car is they're about to die It's the scariest thing, just seeing a car pass right in front of you. It's a busy road. And there are people flying up and down this road every day, and they're afflicted. They're full of sorrows. They're full of heartache. They're full of pain. They're confused. They don't understand life. They don't understand their marriage. They don't understand their homes. They don't understand their jobs. They don't understand the guilt they have to live with each and every day. They don't know what's going on there. They just know there's something wrong in their life. But God in this place wants to exhibit his passion for those people that are suffering in sin, suffering in the trials of life. And this is to be a place where they can find some hope and they can find some help and they can run into the heart of God. The God who is love wants to exhibit himself right here in this burning bush. Moses got to peek into the heart of God at the burning bush. Jesus said in John chapter 4 verse 35, He said, Say ye not, there are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes, and look on the fields, for they are white already to harvest. That means there's people in Livingston, Louisiana, they're ready to be saved. They're ready to come to Christ. They're ready to find some hope in this life and the next. And Fundamental Baptist Church, we've got the answer. That's the passion and the heart of God seen at the burning bush. That brings it to my next thought. The local church, like the burning bush, has the promise of God, specifically the promise of deliverance. Look at verse number eight. And I am come down, this is God talking, I am come down to deliver them, those hurting people. Specifically in the context, it's the Israelites in Egypt. Egypt being a picture of the world. Pharaoh being a picture of Satan. They're trapped by the world, they're trapped by sin, and God tells Moses, I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land, and a large unto a land flowing with milk and honey, unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and Jebusites. Now therefore behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me, and I have also seen the oppression Where would the Egyptians oppress them? He says, I see their oppression and I've come to bring them out. I've come to deliver them. That's a promise of God from the burning bush. And you know what you and I ought to declare in this, this sanctuary on this property, we have a God that delivers. He delivers from sin. He delivers from sorrow. He delivers from storms. He delivers from life's general problems. He delivers. There really is a heaven. There really is a hell. Nobody in here has to go to hell. And everybody can go to heaven. And that's the hope we can have in the Lord Jesus Christ. And that was revealed to Moses, that promise. at the burning bush. One more thought, and I'll be done. So Moses here, like the local church at this burning bush, received the plan of God. Look at verse number 10. God says, come now, therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh. that thou mayest bring forth my people, the children of Israel. Now God just said in verse number eight that God's going to deliver. We read that. God said, I'm going to do this. But in verse 10, God says, you're going to do it. You're going to do what I said I'm going to do. In verse number 10, I will send thee into Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my children, my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt. And Moses said unto God, Who am I that I should go into Pharaoh, that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt? And he says, Certainly I will be with thee, and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee. When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain. When you go get them, you're gonna bring them right back here to the place of God, the local church. You know what you get when you come to church? You get your instructions. You get your orders. You get your directions. You come in the house of God, Lord, I need to hear from you. Lord, I need to know what your will is. I need direction for my life. You come to the burning bush, the local church, And God will tell you what you're supposed to do. He'll tell you what you're not supposed to do. And even when you're here at church and God starts speaking to your heart and you're like, Moses, who am I? Who am I? Well, it's not about who we are. It's about who our God is. And what Moses did not think he could do, that's okay. God can do it. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. You know what God wants us to do? He wants us to be here at the burning bush, get our instructions, go out, find sinners, bring them back right here to the burning bush. God said to Moses, when you go get them, you're going to bring them right back to this holy place. But they've been in them saying about the Great Commission just a moment ago. That's what we see here. Moses got his Great Commission at the burning bush and People are sent out from the local church To take the gospel to a lost and dying world in Mark 16 verse 15 Jesus said go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature Can I show you how this works in the local church? Take your Bible, go to Acts 13. I'm done with this. This is my last thought, I promise. And all the God's people said, don't say a word. Acts 13, Acts 13. We're talking about the plan of God that Moses received at the burning bush. Look at Acts 13, verse number one. Now, they were in the church that was at Antioch. This is a local church. This is a burning bush, if you will. The church that was at Antioch. There were certain prophets and teachers, as Barnabas and Simeon, that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene and Menaion, which had been brought up with Herod the Tetrarch and Saul. And they, or as they ministered to the Lord there in Antioch, in the church, and fasted, The Holy Ghost said, separate me, Barnabas and Saul. Boy, don't that sound like Moses is calling. Separate me, Barnabas and Saul, for the work whereunto I have called them, and when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. See, Antioch was on fire for God. That church at Antioch, they were on fire for God. They were fervent spirit, they were fasting, they were praying, they were serving the Lord in Antioch, that burning bush. There, that burning bush of Antioch, that local church. God said, now, I want you to separate me. There were great, there were other great preachers, there were great prophets there, but God said, I want those two men, I want Barnabas and I want Saul, and I want you to send them out from this burning bush. You know what God wants to do here at Fundamental Baptist Church? He wants to raise up young men, young ladies who want to surrender their life to go out from this burning bush and take the gospel to a lost and dying world. There's people out there that God wants to deliver, but God wants to stir their hearts up and give them their instructions right here in this local church. God's got big plans for us, not because of the size of the church. It doesn't matter if our church only had 15, 20 people, God still has big plans. Because every local church, God wants it to be a burning bush where he can meet with his people and then empower his people to direct his people, to strengthen his people. Moses says, I can't do this. Later on, he says, I don't talk good. He says, I can't speak plainly. But God gave him exactly what he needed to get the job done. Sent out from the burning bush. Folks, God wants this place to be a place that's on fire for him. that brings people in. And when they walk in here, they have an encounter with God, they learn about God, they get saved, they get called to God, they get discipled, they get instructed, and they go back out these doors and go tell somebody else about the God they met at the burning bush. So fundamentally tonight, let's pray. And let's ask God to help us to be a burning bush on the side of this. I mean, what if somebody is driving down this road tomorrow, Or maybe Sunday morning, they wake up, they don't know what they're going to do. Life has thrown them a few curve balls and they've just about struck out. They're confused, they're helpless, they're hopeless, and they're just riding up the road. What if they see that little sign out there and think, they're going to turn in there and see that sign? Wouldn't it be nice if they walked in here and saw a bunch of Christians who were in love with Jesus, excited to be saved, and ready to tell somebody else about Him. Amen.