f God wants to rescue people, why does He need us? We are His hands and feet on the earth, the "body of Christ." It may be His idea, and we couldn't do it without Him, but His idea also includes us. I'm sure He could do it without us, but I know it's a lot more fun to "step into the story." (Message: Eric Elder; Worship Song: "Here I Am To Worship" written by Chris Tomlin, led by Al Lowry and James Olmos; Running time: 30:29)

Lesson 4 - God Rescues People Through People

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ERIC E.: Hi, this is Eric Elder, and welcome to The Ranch. Have you ever wondered why God needs you here on the earth at all? Do you ever wonder what you're here for and if you have a purpose at all here on the earth?

Well, tonight we're going to take a look at Exodus Chapter 3, and it very clearly answers these questions. And I think you'll be amazed as you read through this how God worked in Moses' life and the things that God wanted to do in the world. But as he wanted to accomplish these things, there was a man that he sought out to accomplish them for Him. And it's sort of encouraging that we can actually work together with God to accomplish His will.

So I think as you watch this experience tonight and we talk about the burning bush, how God can speak to us, and how He can call us into doing something that really is way beyond anything we could ever pull off in our lives, I think you'll be encouraged that God is alive and that he's going to speak to you through this message as well tonight.

So if you want to open your Bibles, or you want to take a look on line at some Internet Bible that you've got, we're going to read here in the room Exodus Chapter 3, Verses 1 through 10. This is the chapter about the burning bush. And last time we talked about a burning heart, how a burning heart precedes a burning bush. That God, when he wants to speak to someone, often will speak to someone whose heart is already beating for the things that God's heart beats for.

And last week we saw that Moses' heart really beats for rescuing people, that Moses loved to rescue people, and he rescued three different sets of people in the last passage that we looked at. And today God is going to come and speak to him and call Moses on a special mission.

So if you've got that open and you've got it there, why don't we start in Verse 1 through 10 and just read a couple of verses and go around the room.

Paul, you got it there to start with?

PAUL S.: "Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that thought the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, "I will go over and see this strange sight - why the bush does not burn up." When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, "Moses, Moses!" And Moses said, "Here I am." Do not come any closer, "God said. "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground." Then he said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob." At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God."

ERIC E.: Someone else have Verse 7? Scott, do you have that?

SCOTT P.: "The Lord said, "I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have

heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey - the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites."

ERIC E.: Someone else? Jim, you got that?

JIM B.: "And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt."

ERIC E.: Great. So here's this burning bush that's burning but not burning up. And it's a strange thing for Moses so he stops, turns aside, and looks. What's going on in that bush? Which oftentimes that's the way God will get our attention, he'll do something that's a little out of the ordinary. And He's sort of curious, I think, to see if we'll turn aside. And when we turn aside, that's when He'll speak to us.

Moses could have just kept on going. But Moses turned aside. And that's what God is often waiting for us to do, to notice something unusual, something different that might be going on that He might be working on and we'll turn aside and look.

But here's what I think is interesting about this passage to me, at least the lesson that I got out of it when I was praying through this book of Exodus. Look how many times God says I, I, I, I, I. Tell me a few things that God says he is going to do. First starting in Verse 5 what's the first "I" that He says He is or is going to do.

TYSON R.: I am the God of your father.

ERIC E.: I am the God of your father. So He says who He is. I am the God of your father, tells him who He is. Keep going; what's the next I?

JIM B.: I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt.

ERIC E.: Verse 7, I have seen the misery of the people in Egypt. Next?

PAUL S.: He heard them crying out.

ERIC E.: I heard them crying out.

PAUL S.: He was concerned about their suffering.

ERIC E.: I am concerned about their suffering. Verse 8?

BUD G.: Come to rescue, come down to rescue them.

ERIC E.: So I have come to rescue them. Next?

RICH S.: I have seen the ways.

ERIC E.: I've seen the ways the Egyptians are oppressing them. Ten?

RICH S.: I'm sending you.

ERIC E.: There's a big shift here all of a sudden in Verse 10. I, I, I, I've seen their concern, I've come to rescue them, I'm going to take care of them, I'm worried about their suffering, I care all about them, I want to come down and save them, I'm going to go do this, so now, go, I'm sending who? You.

That really struck me. Well, if it's Your idea and You want to go do it and You've come to do it, why don't You just go do it?

PAUL S.: Right.

ERIC E.: Why doesn't He just go do it? This is the question I want to ask tonight. Why doesn't God just go do it? What in the world would He need you or me or any of us for? Why would God choose to work through people when He wants to do His work?

RICH S.: So He can touch other people, speaking out and reaching out to other people, sharing the Lord with them.

ERIC E.: So He can touch other people, reach out to them.

We've had some situations in this group that you wouldn't be aware of watching on the Internet, that have been very intense, serious situations. And I'd just sort of like to talk a little about that, because I think it talks about the body of Christ.

And Rich here shared a prayer a couple weeks ago on camera that his wife was dying of breast cancer, and this past week she passed on. And yesterday we went to the funeral and buried her earthly body, but her physical body is better than it's ever been where she is now. But would you say that God has been around you these past few months and weeks?

RICH S.: Oh, yeah, made me a lot stronger, reached down to me like a guiding light to me, wanted me to reach out to other people and speak to the Lord, to them about it, relax them and comfort them for any sickness and make them more happier than they are now. They're not sad.

ERIC E.: I'm really thrilled, Rich, for what God is doing in you and through this all. And I would say that one of the main ways God has been speaking to you is through other people and showing His presence by all the people that keep coming into your life and Paula's life and have been there these last few weeks and months, really being the hands of Christ, the words of Christ.

RICH S.: My focus on Him is a lot stronger, reading the Word, a lot of the Holy Spirit.

ERIC E.: You're really getting the Holy Spirit, good doses of the Holy Ghost.

RICH S.: Yeah, bringing into me more stronger.

ERIC E.: And the Word of God speaking to you.

RICH S.: Yeah.

ERIC E.: Another difficult situation, we were praying with Billy today, a guy our age who's got cancer all through him, tremendous pain. And a number of us have been praying for him. He's got some questions about God right now, very honest questions, saying, "God, what are you doing? Why are you doing this to me? Where are you, God?"

And I said, "Billy, look around this room. You've got five people here standing by your bedside praying for you, holding your hand, talking to you. If you want to know where God is, He's all around your bed, because He indwells each of us. Not that we are God, but God comes to live in us through His Holy Spirit." How many people have been praying for Billy, do you think, over the last couple months, bringing him meals, talking to his family, going up to the hospital, making visits. Same with Paula and Rich and Courtney and the boys. Reaching out, being the body of Christ.

Now somebody could be in these situations and say "Where are you, God? This makes me so mad. Why don't you show up?" But I think if we open our eyes and realize that God works through people to touch people, then we can know that He's there.

This isn't to say that God can't speak directly to us. Like you say, the Holy Spirit is definitely at work in your life. And you may be at a situation where you're sick and you're suffering and nobody's coming to visit you, or touch you, or talk to you. I'll tell you we're talking to you right now. And we've spent a lot of money and a lot of time of our own sacrificing, setting up, getting ready, so that we can bring this message to you and let you know that God cares about you and He loves you very much.

As you hear these words, I just want you to know that this is the voice of God coming through, because these are the words of His on the page. These are the words of His Holy Spirit coming through to say "God says, 'I love you, I care about you, and you know what? I want to use you, too. Because there's stuff that I want you to do,'" just like Rich has been talking about. Rich has been feeling and experiencing God's healing and God's touch to him, and that just makes you want to go and reach out to others, doesn't it?

RICH S.: Yeah. Makes you really happy about everything that you're doing for someone else. That person can reach out to someone else and do the same thing, and it keeps on going and going and going. And the more people you get involved with it, the stronger you get.

ERIC E.: Wow.

RICH S.: It's just incredible. Your heart's always getting stronger and stronger each day that you reach out to more people. Like my wife has, she reached out to different people around the world in different parts of the world that I never even thought of, post offices, all different ones, just incredible.

ERIC E.: I don't know about you guys, but this is amazing, these words coming out of Rich, saying how happy this makes him, and how God wants to get more and more people involved. I think if you flip through scripture, that's exactly the case. When Xerxes was going to destroy all the Jews -- wasn't that Xerxes? And Esther, God raised Esther up and said who knows that God may have raised you up for such a time as this. And Esther had to speak to the king. So God could have just saved the Jews, but instead he said Esther, you speak. And when Esther spoke, thousands of people were saved. Because she stood up, even though it could have cost her her life.

We're facing some issues in our country right now, and I'm feeling that tug that God is saying Eric, you need to speak up. You need to stand up and speak about what's true and what's right. I remember hearing a speaker who was really concerned about the pornography in the country. And he was seeing child pornography and he had seen some of the devastation of it and really the abuse to children and all the things that were going on with kids. And he kept praying about it and praying about it, and he came to God and he just was like, "How long are you going to let this go on? When are you going to do something about this?" And God turned those words right back around and said, "How long are you going to let this go on? When are you going to do something about this?" And he started an organization, he got appointed to President Reagan's task force on pornography, worked with James Dobson and the other guys, and they passed some bills and some things that reigned it in a little bit. I mean, it's just completely gone havoc again now with the Internet and everything going on.

But I call out to God about abortion. I say God, "How long are you going to let these children die?" Homosexuality, gay marriage. "God, how long are you going to let these people kill themselves when it's killing them and they don't realize it?" And then I hear the question come right back to me. "Eric, how long are you going to let this go on? When are you going to do something about this?" Because God wants to work through us to touch others. It's His Plan A, and I don't see a lot of Plan B in the Bible. Sure, behind the scenes there's a lot of fireworks and thunder going on, and we surely couldn't do it on our own either. Just like Moses couldn't have parted the sea on his own; no way. Moses couldn't have stood up to Pharaoh and let 600,000 men go, not counting all the women and children. There's no way we could do the things that God calls us to do without Him, without His help. There's no way Rich is going to be able to reach out to people if God wasn't there to help him do it, there's just not.

So we totally need to rely on God. But He is totally relying on us. Take a look with me at a verse in 2 Corinthians. The New Testament, 2 Corinthians, Chapter 5. There's a principle over here in the New Testament as well that talks about our work with God. If you get that, if one or two of you want to read starting with Verse 18, and we'll read from 18 through 21. 2 Corinthians 5, starting in Verse 18. When you get that, Bud, maybe you would want to start us off.

BUD G.: How much do you want me to read?

ERIC E.: Maybe 18, 19.

BUD G.: "All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation."

PAUL S.: "We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."

ERIC E.: Great. Back here in 19 or Verse 18, it says that God gave us this ministry of reconciliation, the ministry of reconciling people one to another, reconciling them with God. He gave to us this ministry to reconcile people. And then He says in Verse 20, we are therefore Christ's ambassadors as though God were making His appeal through us.

So this is Paul writing to the Corinthians. And he said we're ambassadors for Christ. God wants to make an appeal to you and He's doing it through us. He's doing it through our words. He's doing it through our presence here. And here's the appeal: "We implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.

And for anyone who's not put their faith in Christ that might be watching this, God wants you to be reconciled to Him." And I am just acting as an ambassador. We in this room, a dozen or so guys that are here gathered, are just acting as ambassadors to you and to each other, to say be reconciled to God, come to Christ, put your faith in Him for everything in your life. Whether you need forgiveness for your sins, whether you need a miracle of healing, whether you need the strength to get through, whatever God is doing in your life, be reconciled to Him. Put your faith in Him, and then let God work through you and you be an ambassador for Christ, and take that message to the rest of the world. It's one of our core purposes, our core mission as a follower of Christ.

I hope this is encouraging that God not only wants to use you, but He really needs to use you. And if we don't do it, He'll either have to find somebody else who will or it won't get done. God's will, I don't understand it, and He'll do everything that He wants to do, somehow, some way. But I want to be part. I'd rather step into the story; wouldn't you? It's a lot more fun; isn't it?

RICH S.: Yeah, a lot more fun.

ERIC E.: To be part of the story than standing on the sidelines thinking about it. I want to sing a worship song, and we're going to have Al and James lead us again this week in worship to God.

Light of the world, you step down into darkness, open my eyes, let me see. We're just going to sing Here I am to Worship. If this has sparked things in your heart that you want to worship God, I pray that this song that we sing will just be an expression of what's on your heart back to Him, to say God, we're here to worship You, to honor You, to thank you that you stepped into the world for us. And then we'll pray when we're done that we would be able to step into the world for Him.

(Worship song: "Here I Am To Worship" written by Chris Tomlin, led by Al Lowry and James Olmos. Used by permission.)

ERIC E.: Amen. Thank you, Lord.

Thank you, Lord, that we can come and worship you.

Thank you, God, that we can fall on our knees and just come before you, God.

Thank you, God, that you want to use us, Lord, that it's your joy and pleasure to use us and that you're searching for people whose hearts burn for you.

Lord, I pray that you would speak to us to even in this moment, tell us the things you want us to hear. Let us hear your voice, God.

God, even if they're scary things, even if they're things that we just say how can we do it, God, help us to trust you, help us to put our faith in you again today for everything. Help us to follow you so that we can carry out your will.

Help us to be your hands on this earth. Help us to be your feet on this earth. Help us to be your eyes and your ears to someone who needs a listening ear, your mouth to someone who needs a word of encouragement.

Lord, as we talk to our wives or our children or our families or parents or friends, help us to reach out to them in love. Help us use our hands in a way that expresses your love to them, and not anything else. Lord, help us use our words in ways that express your love to them and not anything else. Help us to use our actions and the places we go and the places we drive and the things we look at, help us to use them for your glory, not for our own selfish desires.

For, Lord, when we're selfish and we do the things just for our own pleasure, Lord, it always brings us down. Even momentary pleasure just brings us down eventually, God. But as Rich said, when we serve others, when we help others, when we're able to reach out to others, it brings us joy. It actually makes us happy to do your will, and to step out in your glory.

Lord, help us to be bold and to stand for the things that you stand for. Father, I pray for Rich, that this week would be a tremendous time of reflection, Lord. I thank you that you're lifting him up. I pray you would continue to lift him up, Lord. Continue to lift him, continue to walk with him.

Lord, I pray for Billy, pray you would lift his spirits, Lord. Help him to follow you, put his faith in you, to realize that you're all around him, Lord.

Lord, for the people watching this on the Internet, which may be months or years from now, God, people reading the transcript, Lord, as they read these words even in this moment, boost their faith that you care about them, that you want to use them, that whatever they're going through you see it, you know it, it's not a surprise to you at all. But that God wants you to stand up in faith and to use this experience for good, Lord, for others, and for ourselves, to know that you love us and to share that love throughout the earth.

Thank you, Lord, for this time. We love you. In Jesus' name, Amen.

I love this stuff. I love the Word of God. I love reading it. I love absorbing it. I love applying it, and walking it out. There's lots of days where I get scared of it, and I wonder what I'm doing. And I say God, why am I doing this. But God comes along and picks me up, keeps me going. And I hope He does the same for you. I hope you keep following along with us, keep plugging along here. Because God has lots more that He wants to speak to us. Thanks for coming. I hope you will join us again next time here at The Ranch.