KS: Okay everyone, we are at week six of our Hidden Potential Online Bible Study. Isn't
it kind of sad? I mean truly, it’s been a journey of us sitting here and talking with
you guys, and so I want to say thank you so much for writing Hidden Potential and sharing
these messages, and writing with us in mind as you wrote it, so appreciate that. Wendy,
this week we're reading Chapter Six and it's all about moving forward and I think that's
beautiful because it shows where we started, right? And you've taken us on a journey, you've
answered some questions for us, and we have an action step, and kind of like a commission
to like, now, move.
WP: I know, that's how that chapter ended with commission
KS: Yes, Yes, so we're moving forward and so the question we have for you this week
is, can I move forward?
WP: Can I? Yeah, and what's so funny is that you're talking about moving forward and we're
gonna go back.
KS: Okay, it truly is a journey, you know?
WP: It’s like whiplash. We're going to go back into Exodus to the very beginning. I
want us to go back to Exodus Chapter 3, okay? Because here's the thing. We have done our
best together each week to give some equipping conversation and drew from the Bible some
encouragement for all of us. For everyone listening, including ourselves because we
are right there with these same emotions, looking in the mirror. I try to write a book
looking in the mirror. But, we still have that nagging feeling, seriously? I mean I
read all that you said. I read all, I did all the Bible study questions I caught myself
up, maybe got behind but I’ve caught up. But what we need to, what I want us to remember
as we move forward, is this, is that God specializes in using and seeing the possibility in everybody.
He does. We focused on one person through our study, Moses. But the Bible is filled
with people that failed, that had frailties that had faults that had fears that God used.
I wrote a couple down - Saul. He was chosen to be the first king of Israel and he was
from the smallest tribe. Of all the twelve tribes, the tribe of Benjamin was the smallest,
he was the smallest. He was a handsome man and he was well in stature, he had done some
battles, so he had a good reputation. But when Samuel called him to announce him as
the king he was hiding behind the luggage is what the Scripture says. So God sees the
possibility, He saw the possibility in Saul. He also saw (s-a-w) that Saul (s-a-u-l) would
disappoint and disobey Him.
KS: Isn't that fascinating that God knew that he was gonna fail or you know mess up but
yet still chose.
WP: And he chose Moses. He knew Moses was going to murder. He knew David was going to
murder and commit adultery. He knew he would end up surrendering at times in his life to
the king of the Philistines as he ran in fear from Saul, who was chasing him. You've got
one of the greatest evangelists of all times recorded nine books (I think nine books, that
might be wrong, that fact might be wrong) Maybe nine or thirteen of the New Testament,
Paul, who murdered Christians. God knew all of that. So I want us to close out the week,
or the study, knowing and being confident there isn't anything in our past that will
discount and discredit us from our purpose and our possibility. Nothing. I mean if God
can use the likes of a murderer, several murderers, then certainly he can use me, and you, and
you, and everyone. So I want us to just go back to the very beginning of Moses’ encounter
with Jesus or with God excuse me, with God. Now we know that Moses had fled to Midian
and what I love about Scripture, I love everything that's said in Scripture, but I love what's
not said. I love to try to read between the lines. Because we never see in his time in
Midian, to the moment that he encounters God at the burning bush, any reconciliation. We
don't ever see a conversation that says “God, I sinned, I killed that man, please forgive
me”. Same with Peter, we never see a reconciliation with Peter and God after he denied Him three
times and God, Jesus said be my sheep. But something happened on the plains of Midian
and in the desert of Midian something happened between God. Because God saw, between God
and Moses, because God saw, okay he's ready now. It's like, that's that's what I feel
like our journey is all along as we are dealing with our fears and our faults and our failures
and our frailties. He's looking at us and he's gonna say, okay she's ready now. And
that's what he said to Moses, in a sense I'm reading between the lines, as I said. Not
trying to add to Scripture. Now Moses, this is Chapter 3, 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 Orab the mountain of God. The angel of the Lord appeared to
him in flames, a fire from within a bush and Moses saw that the bush was on fire but it
did not burn up. Which is interesting to us we can't imagine, okay? Well this was commonplace.
In the desert it would get so hot there were like underbrush and sage bushes that would
spontaneously catch a fire, okay? So that would not have been something that would have
been out of the ordinary. But the fact that it didn't burn up was what was interesting
to him. So it didn't burn up, and Moses thought, I love when we get to read the people in the
Bible's they're thinking, I will go over and see this strange site. Which if something
was burning, I probably would not go to it. I will go over and see this strange site.
Why does this bush not burn up? And when the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God
called to him from the bush and said “Moses, Moses” and Moses said “here I am”. Moses
knew who was talking to him. I love that, that establishes a relationship between God
and Moses. Something had happened. He knew God, he knew God from when he was a little
boy. He was raised by his own mother, even though he was supposed to be thrown in the
Nile he got to be raised by his own mother in his faith. So he knew God. So our challenge
here at the end and what I want to leave us with is to walk towards your burning bush.
Walk towards it and bow down. I don't know what your burning bush is. Maybe it's a message,
a theme, that continues to carry out. God is speaking to you through your pastor every
Sunday, something is made in reference to it. And then you get in the car and there
is a song about the very same thing and the hair on the back of your neck stands up, right?
And then you open your email and Proverbs 31 ministries Encouragement For Today has
sent you a devotion on the very same topic. Walk towards your burning bush. Bow down because
it's God speaking to you. It's holy ground. He's got a calling on your life. Don't know
what it is, don't know what your responsibility is, and it's probably not going to be to free
a nation from slavery, but it is no less important. So here's our final thought is, we don't have
to see our potential, we just have to believe in the God who does and believe that we are
a worthwhile possibility.
KS: Well, Wendy there's really nothing else I could say to wrap us up even more, but I
want to say to you thank you for helping us get ready so that we can be used by God.
WP: I'm excited for the Kingdom of God, Kendra. I'm excited. We've got lots of women who are
gonna walk towards their burning bush. Can you imagine what is going to happen?
KS: Right. Thank you, thank you so much. Alright, everybody, well you heard, you heard it from
Wendy. Walk towards your burning bush. As we wrap up week six, you're going to read
Chapter Six and it has been an honor to study alongside you. We have a few more days, but
just know that we love you and we believe when you know the truth and live the truth
it changes everything. Have a great week, everybody.