I.　A person who is called by God must see the vision of the burning thorn-bush—Acts 7:22-36; Exo. 3:2-3:

A.　Because of God's redemption, the excluding flame of Genesis 3 has become the visiting and indwelling flame of Exodus 3—Gal. 3:13-14; Rom. 12:11; 2 Tim. 1:6-7:

1.　The thorns in Genesis 3 indicate that fallen man is under a curse; sin brought in the curse, and the curse brought in the excluding flame of fire— vv. 17-18, 24.

2.　In Exodus 3 the cursed thorn becomes the vessel of God, and the flame of fire becomes one with the thornbush—vv. 2-4.

3.　The redeeming Christ has taken away the curse, and the Spirit as the fire has been given to us—Gen. 3:21; 4:4; John 1:29; Gal. 3:13-14; Luke 12:49; Acts 2:3-4.

B.　Everyone who is called of God must realize that he is just a thornbush (a sinner under God's curse—Gen. 3:17-18) with a fire burning within him and that this fire is the Triune God Himself, the God of resurrection—Deut. 33:16; Mark 12:26:

1.　The fact that the thornbush burned without being consumed indicates that God does not want to use our natural life as fuel; He will burn only with Himself as fuel—Lev. 10:1-11; Rom. 12:11; 2 Tim. 1:6-7; Phil. 4:13; Col. 1:29.

2.　Through the sign of the burning thornbush, God impressed Moses that he was a vessel, a channel, through which God was to be manifested—Deut. 33:1, 16; Psa. 90, title; cf. 2 Cor. 4:7; Phil. 1:20, 25; 2 Tim. 3:16-17; cf. Jer. 23:29.

C.　The church is a corporate thornbush burning with the God of resurrection— Num. 9:15-16; Deut. 33:16; Heb. 3:6; cf. Gen. 2:22; Eph. 2:6:

1.　God's ultimate goal is to obtain a dwelling place, to build up His habitation—John 1:14; 2:19; 1 Cor. 3:16; Rev. 21:3, 22.

2.　The church is the Triune God burning within redeemed humanity; this is the divine economy—Luke 12:49; Acts 2:3-4; 1 Tim. 3:15-16; Rev. 1:14b; 4:5; 5:6.

3.　The children of Israel, typifying today's church, were a corporate thorn-bush, who were redeemed (Exo. 13:14-16), sanctified (v. 2), transformed, and built up:

a.　Do not say that the church is poor, low, or dead; the more you say this, the more you put yourself under a curse; but if you praise the Lord for the church life and speak well concerning it, you will put yourself under God's blessing—Gen. 12:2; Num. 23:21; 24:5, 9b; 1 Cor. 1:2; Eph. 1:3.

b.　In spite of all the division, sin, confusion, abuse of gifts, and heretical teaching in the church in Corinth, the apostle still called it the church of God, because the divine and spiritual essence which makes the assembled believers the church of God was actually there—1 Cor. 1:2.

D.　The Triune God burning within and upon His redeemed ones is the focal point of the divine revelation in the Scriptures; the record of the burning thornbush is to be a continuing memorial and testimony to God's called ones—Deut. 33:16; Mark 12:26.

II.　A person who is called by God must have a revelation of who God is:

A.　For the purpose of calling and sending Moses, God, the sending One, appeared to him as the sent One—Exo. 3:2, 6; John 20:21-22; Zech. 2:6-11.

B.　The name of the One who called Moses is "I Am"—Exo. 3:14-15:

1.　The name "I Am" indicates that God, Christ, is the reality of every positive thing—John 8:58; 6:35; 8:12; 15:1; Col. 2:16-17.

2.　We must know that the God who calls us is and we are not—Heb. 11:6.

C.　The One who called Moses was the God of his father—Exo. 3:6:

1.　The God of your father denotes history with God.

2.　In the eyes of God, the Lord who calls us is the God of our spiritual father— 1 Cor. 4:15, 17; Psa. 103:7; Phil. 2:19-22; cf. 1 Cor. 1:9; Phil. 3:14.

D.　The One who called Moses was the God of resurrection—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the resurrecting Triune God—Matt. 22:31-32; Exo. 3:6:

1.　The God of Abraham signifies God the Father who calls man, justifies man, and equips man to live by faith and live in fellowship with Him—Gen. 12:1; 15:6; chs. 17—18; 19:29; 21:1-13; 22:1-18.

2.　The God of Isaac signifies God the Son who blesses man with the inheri-tance of all His riches, with the life of the enjoyment of His abundance, and with a life in peace—25:5; 26:3-4, 12-33.

3.　The God of Jacob signifies God the Spirit who works in all things for the good of His lovers, transforms man, and makes man mature in the divine life that man may be able to bless all the people, to rule over all the earth, and to satisfy all the people with God the Son as the life supply—48:15-16; Rom. 8:28-29.

4.　A called one of God must be in resurrection and do everything in resurrec-tion for the building up of the church, which is altogether in resurrection— Acts 2:24; Rev. 1:17-18; Eph. 1:19-23; Rom. 8:11; 1 Cor. 15:45b, 58; 2 Cor. 1:8-9.

E.　The One who called Moses was the God of the Hebrews, the God of the people who have crossed the river for the fulfillment of God's purpose—Gen. 14:13; Exo. 3:18.

III.　A person who is called by God must know the purpose of God's calling— v. 8:

A.　The purpose of God's calling is to deliver God's chosen people out of the usur-pation and tyranny of Satan and the world, typified by Pharaoh and Egypt— Rom. 1:16.

B.　The purpose of God's calling is to bring God's chosen people into the all-inclusive Christ realized as the all-inclusive Spirit in our spirit, typified by the land of Canaan flowing with milk and honey—Col. 2:6; Gal. 3:14; Rom. 8:16; cf. Isa. 7:14-15.

IV.　A person who is called by God must know how to deal with Satan, the flesh, and the world—Exo. 4:1-9; 1 John 3:8; Gal. 5:17; 1 John 2:15:

A.　Anything that we rely upon apart from God is a hiding place for the serpent— Exo. 4:2-4; Luke 10:19; cf. S. S. 8:5a.

B.　Our flesh is a constitution of leprosy—sin, rottenness, uncleanness, and corruption—Exo. 4:6-7; Rom. 7:17-18, 24-25; cf. Isa. 6:5; 2 Kings 5:1-14.

C.　The world with its supply, entertainment, and amusement is filled with the blood of death—Exo. 4:9; 1 John 5:19; Gal. 6:14.

V.　A person who is called by God needs the experience of matching and cut-ting—Exo. 4:14b-16, 24-26; Luke 10:1; 1 Cor. 1:1; 2 Cor. 1:9; 4:10-12:

A.　A called one must have someone to match him in the principle of the Body for his restriction, safeguard, and protection—Exo. 4:14b-16; Deut. 32:30; Eccl. 4:9-12.

B.　A called one must be willing to have the subjective experience of the circumci-sion of his natural life in order to become useful to the Lord for the fulfillment of His eternal purpose and the carrying out of His commission—Exo. 4:24-26; Phil. 3:3.

C.　May every aspect of God's calling be our experience in the Lord's recovery today.