Who Am I?

Introduction

When I first entered the ministry ten years ago, I was filled up enthusiasm that I was going to make a difference for Christ. I was young, energetic, and had the passion to preach. I was sure when I began to preach that I would draw a younger group and they would hear the Gospel and be converted. The gospel is so simple. The news is so good. The grace of Christ is so precious that I could think of nothing else but that my hearers would at once give themselves to Christ. I was under the impression that the reason people were not converted in greater numbers was that the preachers did not make the gospel simple and plain. This I know that I could do.

Oh how little did I know. I was as ignorant as Moses when he made his first attempt to save his brethren. I did not know what the bondage was, though I myself had been delivered. I did not realize the darkness of the unrenewed mind, the enmity of the unrenewed heart. I did not know the strength of the chain with which Satan has bound souls. The old Adam is strong. I confess that to this day when I stand to proclaim the gospel to help lead others to Christ, it is not without a certain sense of fear. My insufficiency always comes before me when I think of what is involved in this work. I often think “Who Am I?” that God called me to this work.

To persuade a someone to change their life, to give up certain sins and hurtful lusts, is comparatively easy: but to convert a sinner to God is difficult work indeed; and without the aid of the Divine Spirit it is impossible for anyone to do it. This is why many make excuses just like Moses tried to do. Excuses comes very easy for us all. We get it from our original parents, Adam and Eve.

God appeared to Moses in the burning bush and tells him he had seen his people’s misery, heard their cries, cared about their plight, and in verse 8 He is coming to rescue them. Now all that was well and good, until the catch. God told Moses to go, I am sending you to do it. Instead of making plans and packing his bags, he starts making excuses as to why he isn’t the right choice.

Transition

Before we go to far, we must understand that knowing God and making a declaration of faith is an important part of the journey of faith. But then what usually follows an encounter with God is an acute and often painful awareness of self. Moses is receiving a call from God, but he doesn’t know who this God is which leads him to ask who are you. But alongside that question is a realization that he does not measure up to this ideal or to this calling. “Who am I,” Moses asks again and again in an attempt to crawl out from under this call. Our awareness of self is an important element of the journey. But like our understanding of who God is, our understanding of ourselves changes and grows with time.

Our first awareness is our inadequacy. Confession is an appropriate response for those who are entering into a relationship with God.

“Send me,” says Isaiah in the temple of the Lord. “Get away from me, Lord” is fisherman Peter’s response to ferrying Jesus around in his boat. Our experience of unworthiness is often a starting point in our discipleship. But it must be the final experience of unworthiness. As we grow closer to God, we begin to see ourselves as worthy because we are made worthy by God’s love and transforming grace. We see the delight God takes in us as a part of God’s creation, blessed in so many ways.

Our prayers begin with confession but then can move on to commitment, from acceptance of grace and forgiveness into intercession for others. We don’t stay in a state of shame but move into grace because of God’s call on our lives.

Today we are going to look at Moses’ excuses and how God changes those excuses from Who am I? to a guarantee of success because I Am is going to be with us.

Excuses

The excuses that Moses offers up to God are very revealing to us and maybe something we all have dealt with because of traumatic experiences in our life. Any form of failure or rejection wears away our ability to “bounce back.” We begin to second guess every decision and feel as though we are not capable of success at all, which is where we find Moses at the burning bush.

Between Exodus 3:11 and 4:15, Moses put forward five objections to God’s commissioning. In response to four of the five objections, God promised Moses that ‘I am/will be …’. This word of promise uses the verb which is central to the revelation of God’s name in 3:15. Each of the objections may had echoes of past realities for Moses and represented his thinking about who he had been and the recognition that his past had in some way crippled him for the task.

The first excuse had to do with his identity, that is, with who he was.

Moses was a man struggling with his identity and his place. In verse 11 the objection was put starkly by asking the question, ‘Who am I?’, or more broadly, ‘Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?’ Undoubtedly, as well as questions of identity that appear to be reflected in the context of the passage, there is an appropriate (even ‘realistic’) expression of humility here. There is also an echo of Moses’ previous failed encounters with both Pharaoh and the people of God, and therefore a question of his suitability.

The response of God is clear and strong and is comprised of a wordplay that dominates the interaction that follows. Where Moses had asked, ‘Who am I?’, God responds by telling Moses that the issue was not who Moses was but who God is. Moreover, he would be with Moses. In other words, the identity of Moses paled into insignificance beside the identity of the one who stood behind him and with him. It is this statement by God in the first half of verse 12 that lies behind the future success that is announced in the second half of the verse: Moses and the people (the ‘you’ is plural in Hebrew) would serve God on this mountain. In other words, the sign of success would be seen only after Moses stepped out, demonstrating trust in God and obedience to him.

In a book that often takes up the matter of God’s presence, particularly in the latter chapters, these words are particularly important. God was indicating to Moses that God’s presence was all that mattered, not the identity or ability of Moses. If Moses had the Lord present with him, all would be secure. Without him, nothing was secure and Moses would indeed fail as he feared.

What is true of Moses is true of us. When God calls us to a task, it will never be about us, our abilities, our knowledge, our gifts, what we can or cannot do. When God calls you, you can be sure you will have enough to do it because he will be with you and it is about Him not you.

The second excuse Moses tried to use was Who are you, what is your name?

Sounds reasonable, after all Israel had been out of touch with God for 400 years and now Moses was expected to walk up and tell them he had a word from God. God responds with I Am Who I Am or I will be what I will be. Nothing more was needed to be said. God is able to do just what he says he will do. God is and will be what you need him to be. God is sufficient for your every need!

The third excuse was, “What if they don’t believe me?”

God’s word wasn’t enough for Moses. The Israelites had already rejected him once which led him to 40 years in the wilderness. Its easy to say well God sent me.

How many times have you heard a person, “God has given me this word” or “God has spoken to me” and then the next thing out of their mouths contradicts God’s word. So how was Moses going to prove that God had sent him to rescue the people?

His word is not enough so they base their teachings not on what he said but on what they think or they feel. It’s called using his name in vain.

What Moses needs is a way to prove he is sent from God so people will listen. God then gives him these three signs, turning the stick into a snake, turning his hand leprous, and water into blood. That, God says, would convince his skeptical audience. Moses had the promise of God’s presence, the assurance of God’s name, and now the miraculous credentials to convince a cynical people that God had indeed sent him. But that still was not enough and he offers up another excuse.

The fourth excuse was that it wasn’t his gift, he wasn’t eloquent in his speech.

Some believe this may be an indication that Moses stuttered and how could God ever expect him to walk into Pharaohs court and start tripping all over his words. There was no way they would take him seriously.

How many of us rely on this one as a blanket excuse? We aren’t comfortable with trying something new or stepping out so we simply say it’s not my gift.

We don’t talk to people about Jesus because it’s not our gift

We don’t teach Sunday School because its not our gift

We don’t serve when asked because its not our gift

We don’t help in some ministry because its not our gift

Gods’ answer to Moses is who gave us our mouth or our hearing or our sight? If God is the one who gives us our abilities and gifts he certainly is able to give each of us whatever we need to accomplish the work he is calling us to do, amen!

God says, go and I will help you speak and teach you what to say. Again, it’s all about God not us!

Finally, with his excuses exhausted Moses finally confesses “I Don’t Want To”

So he tries to pass the buck, Lord please just send someone else. This is what is ultimately behind all our excuses, we simply don’t want to obey because we may be uncomfortable.

Egypt represented risk of the unknown, of failure, of discomfort, upending the life he had settled into in the desert, so we try to get out of it and wait for someone else to step forward.

Erwin Lutzer said, Moses teaches us that when we excuse ourselves, we accuse ourselves. Our excuses reveal our hidden fearful, disobedience. Even a flimsy excuse can be used to try to protect an unwilling heart. But eventually all our excuses will run headlong into the cross and be shown for what they really are For every knee will bow and tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, on that day our excuses will be turned into confession instead, because it was our sin that led him there.

Have you made that great confession, and rather then trying to excuse your sin and disobedience you confessed it and let him wash you clean, forgive your sins, and give new life? That is what we are about to celebrate in a moment.

The Guarantee of success

With all of these excuses God had an answer. What answer have we to give to this honest shrinking from a difficult work? God answered Moses: “Certainly I will be with thee.” As though He had said, “Why, Moses, you did not expect that I was going to send you down to Egypt alone, to deliver My people? Have you forgotten that I said I had come down to deliver? You indeed are to be My instrument; but I will be with you to make you mighty, and to bring the apparently impossible work to pass.” This puts the work in a new light. If God goes with us to the work, then can we undertake anything. When Jesus said, “Go ye into all the world, and make disciples of all nations,” He did not forget to say, “Lo, I am with you always.”

There is a guarantee of success when God is with us!

I want you to leave here with four principles to go with any of your excuses when God calls you.

God wants to use all of us in spite of our weaknesses. In fact, it is in our weakness that He is strong (2 Corinthians 12:10b).

God wants to balance self-confidence with God-confidence. Paul wrote, “I can do all things through Christ” (Philippians 4:13).

God wants us to be able to overcome the negative results of rejection and become men and women He can use to achieve his purposes in the world (cf. 2 Timothy 1:7-8).

God wants to use our failures to prepare us to face greater challenges.

Are you ready to go back to your Egypt and set the captives free? It may be a family member, a co-worker, or neighbor. Whoever your pharaoh might be, God is bigger than any obstacle you may face!