4. I will be with you (Exodus 3:11-4:17) - Sunday 8th June, 2025

Introduction

What are these sayings? Excuses.

When saying no is difficult, we often make excuses. We give reasons, which may or may not be true, why we can’t do something. We don’t want to admit the real reason is we just don’t want to.

When God called to Moses from the burning bush to go to Egypt and rescue the 2 million Israelites that were enslaved there, Moses began to make excuses why he couldn’t do that. But the real reason was he just didn’t want to do it.

To each excuse, God responding by taking away the excuse by making Moses look at God instead of his own self. God wouldn’t let Moses get away with it, and repeatedly told Moses to just trust Him and go. I hope we can learn from Moses to look to God rather than make excuses.

EXCUSE ONE- WHO AM I? (Exodus 3:11-12)

The perceived lack - personal inadequacy

Exodus 3:11 NKJV

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

Moses looked at himself and said in response to God’s call - “who am I”. Perhaps he remembered the last time he tried to rescue the people of Israel 40 years ago in Egypt. How he was a failure.

I am not qualified. I am not important enough. I cannot go. It sounds very spiritual and humble. But it was an excuse.

God’s response

Exodus 3:12 NKJV

12 So He said, “I will certainly be with you. And this shall be a sign to you that I have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”

God does not get angry. He shows that He will provide what Moses is lacking.

First, God promises “I will be with you". Moses will not be rescuing the people by himself. God is by his side. God promises always to be with His people as they obey Him.

Jesus told the disciples

Matthew 28:20 NKJV

20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

Secondly, God gave Moses a sign that God is with Him. You are going to bring the people out of Egypt. When you succeed, they will worship God on this very mountain. Moses will know God is with him when it does.

God does not accept Moses’ excuse. He will provide what is lacking. Go Moses.

Lesson for today

The disciples did many things for the Lord Jesus while He was with them. His presence gave them strength. But after Jesus was arrested, they all fled and Peter even denied knowing Jesus at all.

But the Lord Jesus promised his disciples earlier that after He went away from them, He would send a helper in His place to be in them to strengthen them.

John 14:16–18 NKJV

16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.

God is present with us to enable us to live as Christians by His Spirit who lives in us.

After Jesus rose from the dead and ascended into heaven, the discples met together for prayer, but did not start tovfulfill Christ’s call to be a witness to the world. But on the day of Pentecost, when God sent the Holy Spirit to them, they began to boldly carry out CHrist’s call. Just as Jesus promised

Acts 1:8 NKJV

8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

God says to us go, because He is with us.

EXCUSE TWO - WHO IS GOD? (Exodus 3:13-22)

The perceived lack - Lack of authority

Exodus 3:13 NKJV

13 Then Moses said to God, “Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?”

Moses next foresees a problem when he goes and tells the Israelites that God has sent him to rescue them. They will reply “What is His name?”. In the Hebrew mindset, the name of someone is not just a label. But the character of the person behind the name. Moses seems to be concerned that the people will question what authority he has.

The Egyptians had many gods each with a name. They each had a specific role in their minds to help them. But who is the God that is sending Moses?

God’s Response

Exodus 3:14 NKJV

14 And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ”

God's response to who am I is “I AM WHO I AM”. The true God is beyond definition or explanation. He is indescribable. God is saying "I am exactly who I am, I am not something you can fully grasp or categorize. You can’t put me in a box and label it”.

But to make that mystery more concrete, God says to start with the name I AM. This is first person singular of Hebrew verb for to be. It does not say who God is but that He is.

* I am the promise keeping God of the past (Ex 3:6,16)

* I am the compassionate hearing and seeing God of the present (Ex 3:7,16)

* I am the powerful delivering God of the future (Ex 3:8,17)

Exodus 3:15 NKJV

15 Moreover God said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations.’

God goes on in verse 15 to say Moses is to use the name LORD (YHWH). Third person singular of to be. It means “He is”.

God does not accept Moses’s excuse. He says the great I AM eternal God is sending you on this mission.

Lesson for today

The same majestic eternal God who called Moses to service is the One we calls us daily to follow Christ.

In the New Testament, the Lord Jesus applied this name of the true God to Himself:

John 8:58 NKJV

58 Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”

Jesus makes it clearer to us what that means

the bread of life the light of the world the door the good shepherd the resurrection and the life the way, the truth, and the life the vine

The Holy Spirit reveals Christ to our hearts

John 15:26 NKJV

26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.

And He is with us.

Ephesians 3:17 NKJV

17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love,

EXCUSE THREE - THEY WON’T BELIEVE ME (Exodus 4:1-9)

The perceived lack - lack of credibility

Exodus 4:1 NKJV

1 Then Moses answered and said, “But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say, ‘The Lord has not appeared to you.’ ”

God had alread promised Moses they will believe him

Exodus 3:18 NKJV

18 Then they will heed your voice; and you shall come, you and the elders of Israel, to the king of Egypt; and you shall say to him, ‘The Lord God of the Hebrews has met with us; and now, please, let us go three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.’

But Moses lacked confidence in God’s words. He is still thinkking about himself - I won’t be able to convince them.

God’s response

God's response is to enable Moses to perform three miraculous signs that he can use to persuade people God sent him:

Exodus 4:2–5 NKJV

2 So the Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A rod.” 3 And He said, “Cast it on the ground.” So he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from it. 4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail” (and he reached out his hand and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand), 5 “that they may believe that the Lord God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.”

Rod - Snake

Every pharoah wore a golden cobra on his crown as a symbol of how Wadjet the goddess would protect the life of Pharoah. As Moses through down the rod it became the symbol of royal divine protection. But Moses then was to pick it up by the tail. That was a guaranteed way to be bitten. Professional snake handlers pick up snakes by the head. By instructing Moses to grab it by the tail, God was demonstrating control over Egypte most powerful royal symbol.

Leprous hand

Exodus 4:6–7 NKJV

6 Furthermore the Lord said to him, “Now put your hand in your bosom.” And he put his hand in his bosom, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous, like snow. 7 And He said, “Put your hand in your bosom again.” So he put his hand in his bosom again, and drew it out of his bosom, and behold, it was restored like his other flesh.

The Egyptians believed that the physical condition of your skin directly reflected blessing or curse by their gods. As Moses put his hand back in the cloak and brought it out diseased and then healed, God was showing He is above all their cursing and healing gods.

Nile to blood

Exodus 4:9 NKJV

9 And it shall be, if they do not believe even these two signs, or listen to your voice, that you shall take water from the river and pour it on the dry land. The water which you take from the river will become blood on the dry land.”

In the Egyptian religious thought, the Nile wasn’t just a river. It was Egypt itself. It brought life to Egypt. Conversely, spilled blood represented to them violence and death. The Nile turning to blood would have been a theological catastrophe. God is showing He controlled life, not the Nile and its gods.

God does not accept Moses’s excuse. He says Go and provides what Moses is lacking.

Lesson for today

Is there a sign that God gives us today to show our message is true? Yes. The miracle of our lives being transformed through faith in Christ by God's Spirit.

2 Corinthians 3:3 NKJV

3 clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart.

EXCUSE FOUR - I AM NOT ELOQUENT (Exodus 4:10-12)

The perceived lack - lack of ability

Exodus 4:10 NKJV

10 Then Moses said to the Lord, “O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.”

Some think Moses stuttered. Some that he suffered from stage fright. Whatever the reason, Moses felt insufficient to the task God had called him.

God's Response

First, God rebuked Moses's irreverence. Moses was being like the clay telling the potter. You’ve made a mistake. You’ve not made me suitable for your purposes.

Isaiah 45:9 NKJV

9 “Woe to him who strives with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth! Shall the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’ Or shall your handiwork say, ‘He has no hands’?

Secondly God said, that excuse is irrelevant. God Himself will be with his mouth and teach him what to say. God delights in taking ordinary clay and making extraordinary vessels.

God does not accept Moses’s excuse. He says Go and provides what Moses is lacking.

Lesson for today

Similarly, Jesus promises that the Holy Spirit will give us the right words to say, even in scary times of persecution. Mark 13:11.

Mark 13:11 NKJV

11 But when they arrest you and deliver you up, do not worry beforehand, or premeditate what you will speak. But whatever is given you in that hour, speak that; for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.

The Corinthians thought Paul was a very poor speaker. But Paul did not trust in his ability. But in God's power to work through him. 1 Corinthians 2:3-5

1 Corinthians 2:4–5 NKJV

4 And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

God has made you the way you are for His special purposes.

EXCUSE FIVE - SEND SOMEONE ELSE (Exodus 4:13-17)

The real lack - faith

Moses has now run out of excuses and says, I just don’t want to do it.

Exodus 4:13 NKJV

13 But he said, “O my Lord, please send by the hand of whomever else You may send.”

This is the truth behind the excuses

God had answered each excuse. The challenge for Moses was whether he would look to God and trust Him, or look to himself in fear that he is unable to complete the task.

God’s response

Exodus 4:14–15 NKJV

14 So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses, and He said: “Is not Aaron the Levite your brother? I know that he can speak well. And look, he is also coming out to meet you. When he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. 15 Now you shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth. And I will be with your mouth and with his mouth, and I will teach you what you shall do.

God was not going to let Moses off the hook. He graciously gave Moses a helper - his brother Aaron - to encourage him and be his spokesman.

Then God says Go! And don’t forget your staff.

Lesson for today

One of the men that Paul trained to serve Christ was Timothy. Timothy perhaps was rather timid because Paul wrote to him

2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV

7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

God’s Spirit helps us to look to God and trust Him instead of ourselves. Fear causes us to magnify problems, and minimize God’s power. And so make bad decisions. The Spirit gives us the faith to trust God and restores clarity and a Christ-centred perspective to our thinking.

Application

Moses was perhaps right to think of his inadequacies for the task God had called him to. But his problem was that his thinking became dominated by these fears, rather than by trusting God and His enabling promises.

The Holy Spirit enables us to give up fear-based thinking, and to have the spiritual clarity to depend on God and His strength.

William Carey is often called the father of modern missions. When Carey first felt called in the 1780s to take the gospel to India, his thinking was initially dominated by fear-based reasoning. He was a poor cobbler with minimal education, no financial backing, and no connections to missionary organizations. His wife was terrified of leaving England. His pastor told him to give up, saying "When God pleases to convert the heathen, He will do it without your aid or mine."

For years, Carey's mind churned with all the reasons why his calling was impossible. But then something shifted in his thinking. Instead of focusing on his limitations, he began to see the situation from God's perspective. He famously declared, "Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God."

His poor circumstances had not changed. The Spirit had given him a sound mind that could think clearly in faith about God's calling rather than being paralyzed by fear-based reasoning. Carey went on to translate the Bible into dozens of Indian languages and establish the foundation for the modern missionary movement.