Yes…but I’m not qualified

November 3rd 2024

Series: Yes!

Sermon Title: Yes…but I’m not qualified

Topic: A series about how we are ALL called by God into ministry and how to learn how to say YES to God’s call. Also raising funds for 2025 missions and letting people know trips planned and missionaries we support.

Key Passages: Exodus 3:1-11, Exodus 4:1,10,13,14-17, Exodus 18: 16-24

Topic: Missions, fear, trust

Sermon Blurb: In today’s message, we will see how people in the Bible overcame the fear of following God’s call to do things they did not feel qualified to do and how we can today!

***1st week ODD months add communion & target message at 15 pages.

***1st week EVEN months add space for dedication, baptism, or ministry highlight & target message at 15 pages.

***Green in sermons means illustration, something we are looking for a response from, and/or a picture that goes on the screens.

***Yellow means what is yellow will be on the screens and in the handout.

Dedication, Baptism, or Ministry Highlight (1st Sunday even months):

Sermon:

Campus Pastor

Hello Family Church!

Family Moment –

Start with something personal from your family life recently to help people get to know you.

Celebrate salvation / re-dedications / baptisms last week.

If you are new, or newer, to Family Church you picked a GREAT week to come!

Today, we launch a new sermon series called YES!!!!

This whole month is focused on God’s mission not only for our church but also for every one of you.

PAUSE

Here is the trajectory for the month.

Today we are going to talk about what a lot of us say to God when we feel He is calling us to do something….

We are looking at how we say…

Yes….BUT….I’m not qualified.

We will look at how a few people in the Bible said the EXACT same thing and how they overcame that fear that a lot of us have.

Next week we will look at another common response to God…

When we say….

Yes…BUT….God, that’s NOT the way I wanted to do!

We will look at how people in the Bible dealt with being called to do something that they did not want to do and how we can overcome that as well.

Then, in week #3, we will look at when we decided to say YES, God! Let’s Go!

We will look at some people in the Bible and how, when they finally said YES to Jesus, everything changed for them.

Then, at the end of the month, we will wrap up this series by looking at when we say YES! to God. But now, what do I do….

So that is the direction for messages this coming month!

In addition, you will NOT want to miss a week because, over the course of this month, you will learn about ALL the missionaries and ministries we support as a church!

You will also learn about ALL the mission trips we planned for 2025!

AND you will also hear about how we want ALL of you to get involved in all of that!

So, it will be a GREAT month, and you will not want to miss a Sunday this month!!!!

PAUSE

One of the other FUN things we do for Mission Month every year is TEAM PREACH!!!!

So I would like to welcome Preacher #2

ADD a short blurb on the person preaching with you….

PAUSE

Preacher #2

Speaking about people we support, I want to share with you about one of the local ministries we support…. BOB ADD SHORT BLURB see how you can weave in how they or someone said yes but I am not qualified.

I also want to share about one of our international ministries…

BOB ADD SHORT BLURB see how you can weave in how they or someone said yes but I am not qualified.

PAUSE

Campus Pastor

I love how we are a church that is NOT internally focused!

How we ARE a church focused on helping other people and other ministries do what God has called them to do!

Grab your Bibles and open them up to the book of

Exodus 3

And by the way…..

New Person Bible Connection:

If you do not have a Bible, that is ok!

After service, we will give you an AMAZING leather-bound study Bible!

Just go to ADD YOUR CAMPUS PLACE and get one for FREE!!!

PAUSE

Let me give you a little background on the guy we will read about in the Bible today.

Today, we are going to read about a guy named Moses.

Moses was raised in Egypt by the Pharoh or the ruler of Egypt.

What makes him unique is that he was NOT an Egyptian.

He was a Hebrew.

The way he came to be raised by the ruler of Egypt was because when he was a baby, the ruler of Egypt was slaughtering the Hebrew children, and Moses' mother put him in a reed basket and put him in the river to try and save him.

Lo and behold, the ruler's daughter found that basket with baby Moses in it and then took him in as her own child.

Moses was then raised in the Pharoh’s household but still with the knowledge that he was a Hebrew.

And things were going well for Moses until one day when he saw an Egyptian soldier beating a Hebrew person, and Moses lost it and killed the soldier.

Then Moses fled Egypt and went into hiding.

Now, all this might seem random, but it was NOT…

It was because God had BIG plans for Moses….

But you will see shortly that Moses had the issue we are discussing today!

Moses did NOT think he was qualified to do what God wanted him to do!

PAUSE

With that, let’s pick up verse 1 of Exodus chapter 3.

Exodus 3: 1-11, 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 wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.

2 There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up.

3 So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”

4 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.”

I know that sounds crazy…

But we are not going to focus on that today…

Just remember, God can do anything to get our attention!

5 “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”

6 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.

7 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.

8 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.

9 And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them.

10 So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”

Stop reading there…

So there is the assignment from God…

Moses…I…God…I am sending you BACK to Egypt.

BACK to the place you were raised.

BACK to the place you have fled because you murdered a person.

BACK to the place where you might get arrested.

BACK to the place where you might be put on trial.

BACK to where you might end up dead for what you did.

God says, “I am sending you BACK Moses because YOU are the person who I, God, am going to work through to get the REST of the Hebrew, Israelite people

And now listen to Moses sound like us…

11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”

Do you hear it, church….

I am not qualified…

Who am I…

AKA God…I think you have the WRONG guy…

Preach #2 you want to share an example of when you have been there in life?

ADD A SHORT example from your life….

Moving over to chapter 4, we will see Moses list excuses and ask questions just like we do in our lives!

Exodus 4:1 Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?”

How many of you…let’s be HONEST….

Have you said you would talk to your friends, family members, neighbors, or co-workers, but you DON’T because they won't listen to you?

Come on, let’s be honest….let me see those hands!!!!

Notice even your campus pastors hand it up!!!!

Moses also said this in verse 10…

Exodus 4:10, Moses said to the Lord, “Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.”

How many of you…let’s be HONEST….

Have you said you would talk to your friends, family members, neighbors, or co-workers, but you DON’T because you don’t know what to say…or you are NOT good with words???

Come on, let’s be honest….let me see those hands!!!!

Notice even your campus pastors hand it up!!!!

Moses also said in verse 13…

Exodus 4:13, But Moses said, “Pardon your servant, Lord. Please send someone else.”

How many of you…let’s be HONEST….

Have you said you just don’t want to do it…

God send someone else…

Come on, let’s be honest….let me see those hands!!!!

Notice even your campus pastors hand it up!!!!

PAUSE

Let’s keep reading because I want to show you something amazing about our God….Verse 14…

See just because we make excuse does NOT mean God does not meet us where we are….

Exodus 4: 14-17, Then the Lord’s anger burned against Moses and he said, “What about your brother, Aaron the Levite?

I know he can speak well. He is already on his way to meet you, and he will be glad to see you.

15 You shall speak to him and put words in his mouth; I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do.

16 He will speak to the people for you, and it will be as if he were your mouth and as if you were God to him.

17 But take this staff in your hand so you can perform the signs with it.”

God is SOOO good!

He provides not only a tool like a staff to help Moses do what he is calling him to do…

But God also provides a support person to help him do what God is calling him to do!!!

God reminds Moses there are other people, that he knows, who can help him!

PAUSE

Campus Pastor

That is sooooo good and soooo true.

Here is the point, church; write this down…

God does not call the qualified. God qualifies the called.

Repeat

Church, you might be scared of what God is calling you to do…

But I can promise you that if you are following God, he is going to provide what you need to accomplish what He is calling you to do!

God DIDN’T replace Moses because he tried to get out of it!

God surrounded Moses with what he needed.

PAUSE

Moves to Exodus 18 in your Bibles…

I want to show you one more thing today….

So from here Moses, and Aaron, went on to do what God called them to do.

They went through hard times…

It was NOT easy…

It was NOT all sunshine and rainbows…

They had struggles and issues along the way…

But they accomplished what God wanted them to do.

You can read those chapters later….

In Exodus 18…we read about Moses and Aaron leading the Israelite people to the promised land.

And Moses is struggling again!

He is struggling to lead the people well.

He does not feel qualified, and his Father-in-law comes and gives him some advice. Let’s read it…

Exodus 18: 16-24 Whenever they have a dispute, it is brought to me, and I decide between the parties and inform them of God’s decrees and instructions.”

17 Moses’ father-in-law replied, “What you are doing is not good.

18 You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone.

19 Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their disputes to him.

20 Teach them his decrees and instructions, and show them the way they are to live and how they are to behave.

21 But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain

—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.

22 Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves.

That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you.

23 If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.”

And what ever parent dreams of when coaching their kids….

24 Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said.

Here is the question I want to pose to you church…It is in your notes…

Are you called by God to lead or support someone who is leading?

Repeat

We are not all called to be leaders, and that is fine.

Some of us are called to be that #2 who helps the leader.

You might be called to be a Mom, or Dad, and lead your kids.

You might not have kids and maybe your call is to support those who do.

You might be in the business world dreaming about the day when you are the boss…

Maybe you are not the boss because you have not embraced supporting your boss, and God is not going to elevate you until you can see the value of being a support person!

Maybe you want to be the start athlete, but God designed you to be the Scotty Pippen….Or Venus Williams, or Grunk…

You are not the MJ or Brady…but you are an amazing support to them.

PAUSE

Church, we are all created by God with different gifts.

We are all good at different things.

We are all BAD at different things.

ADD EXAMPLE OF YOU & OTHER PREACHER…

Preacher #2

So here is what we are going to do as a church to help you today….

We are going to give you all an invitation as you exit service today from God…

It is an invitation to use your gifts for God.

On that invitation is a link to where you can go take a online survey to find out what your Spiritual Gifts are….

We want to encourage you to do that and then pray and ask God what you could do for Him….

Let me share your life application with you today….

For those of you who are new, or newer, to Family Church.

We end our messages with a Life Application.

It is simply something to help you go home and process this message with someone else.

Something to help you continue to ponder how you can apply today's message to your life.

So here is what I want you all to spend some time processing and talking with someone about.

Life Application: Take the spiritual gifts test this week. After reviewing the results, ask God to help you lean into your gifts to do whatever God wants you to do. As a result of today’s message, I will _________________________.

Communion Flow #3 – May, November

Today, as we prepare to take communion.

I want you to understand you are called to serve.

The greatest servant ever was Jesus…. Jesus left Heaven…. to come to earth and give His life for us….

to become the bridge for our sins….

to take on our sins so we can be forgiven and enter into a perfect heaven.

That is why we take communion….to remember Jesus and what he did for us!

We believe and confess that our Savior Jesus Christ has ordained and instituted the sacrament of the Holy Supper to nourish and sustain those who are already grafted into his family, into his church . . .

Communion, is a means of grace for nourishing and strengthening disciples of Christ.

And to prepare our hearts to take communion I would like us all to raise and read the 10 Commandments together.

What I would like us to do is do a responsive reading now…to prepare our hearts to receive communion….

For those of you who are newer to church…. The 10 commandments come from the book of Exodus in our Bibles and were the starting guide to God’s way of living differently than the world.

On Screens, read aloud together:

You will have no other gods before me. (Exodus 20:3)

You will not make idols. (Exodus 20:4-6)

You will not take the name of the Lord God in vain. (Exodus 20:7)

Remember the Sabbath day and keep it Holy. (Exodus 20:8-11)

Honor your father and mother. (Exodus 20:12)

Do not murder. (Exodus 20:13)

Do not commit adultery. (Exodus 20:14)

Do not steal. (Exodus 20:15)

Do not bear false witness against your neighbor. (Exodus 20:16)

Do not covet your neighbor. (Exodus 20:17)

You may be seated.

As we prepare to take communion I want to let you know anyone here who has accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior is welcome to take communion.

Parents, you are also welcome to take communion with your kids if you think they are ready… feel free to talk to your children during communion and explain things to them.

Communion is a celebration of Jesus’ resurrection.

Jesus instituted Communion on the evening He was betrayed. In Mathew 26:26-28 we read, “While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, ‘Take and eat; this is my body.’ Then He took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.’”

Now we are going to listen to a song and as you listen I want to encourage you to take a moment and reflect on what it means that Jesus was willing to sacrifice His body for you and shed his blood for the forgiveness of your sins….

Take a moment and thank Jesus for his sacrifice for you.

Take a moment to ask Jesus to forgive you of any hidden sin in your life.

If you have not given your life to Jesus…take a moment now and ask Jesus to forgive you of your sins and tell him you now submit your life to him…

And then after this song, I will explain how we will take communion…. together….

AFTER THE SONG ENDS…..

In the seat in front of you there is a cup the looks like this……

EXPLAIN HOW TO OPEN based on style….

Just so you all know, the bread is gluten-free…

Let’s first take and eat the bread of life and give Jesus thanks for sacrificing his body for us.

Scripture tells us then Jesus took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.’”

Drinking this cup symbolizes Jesus shedding his blood for our sins….

AND us asking Jesus to give you an increased portion of his Spirit to keep us away from sinning in the future!

Take and drink the cup in remembrance of Jesus shedding his blood for your sins.

Prayer:

Make sure to do salvation call!

Offering: