There Are No Excuses

It was a dark moment for God’s people. A godly man by the name of Stephen was brutally murdered, Acts 7:54–60. He had been falsely accused, Acts 6:11–15. He had preached the truth, Acts 7:1–53. Now he was dead. But more persecution was about to happen. Here’s what it says in Acts 8:1–4.

Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him to death. And on that day a great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. Some devout men buried Stephen and made loud lamentation over him. But Saul began ravaging the church, entering house after house, and dragging off men and women, he would put them in prison. Therefore, those who had been scattered went about preaching the word.

I’m so impressed with the response from the saints. It could’ve been easy for them to say, “If this is what happens when you speak about Jesus, I’m not going to say or do anything.” But that wasn’t their response. Instead, what we see is that this tragic event only furthered the cause for Jesus. The saints weren’t going to be silenced. What I see is that God’s people in the first century had a no excuses mindset.

• Their lives were suddenly disrupted yet they continued to do God’s work.

• There was great potential for them to be killed because of their beliefs yet they continued to do God’s work.

• Nothing was going to get in their way of accomplishing God’s great work.

What about us? When it comes to evangelism, do you ever find yourself coming up with excuses? I have and still from time to time do.

Spend a few minutes and write out excuses you have used in times past or maybe even currently that are holding you back from accomplishing God’s great work.

In this lesson, we will consider some common excuses that sometimes hold back the people of God. To help us with our study, we will consider Moses.

Before we do, let’s quickly go through our action items.

Prayer: What opportunities did you pray about last week?

Invite: Who did you give a card to? What was the response when you gave them the card?

Read: What stood out to you in your reading?

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Luke 16 - The Rich Man — Take Heed of Opportunities

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Matthew chapter 1, just very briefly, is a chapter that contains:

The genealogy of our Lord

The announcement of his birth to Joseph

And we might look at that chapter and think, well, there's really just nothing that I can learn that helps me in evangelism from Matthew chapter 1.

But I want you to notice a couple things that we learn.

The Purpose of Jesus's Coming

First of all, I do learn in that chapter that the reason Jesus came (before we come back to the genealogy) was for what purpose?

You'll call his name Jesus. For he will what? Save his people from their sins.

Why did the son of God come? Well, he came to save us and he's the only one that can save us.

How does that help me in personal evangelism?

That means we've got to tell other people about the Lord, about his message because it's the only thing that can can save. It ought to motivate me to think that the son of God left heaven behind and came to this earth to save man. And if I keep that message to myself, then in some ways his coming was in vain for those that do not hear the gospel preach ought to motivate me to preach the gospel a little bit more.

The Power to Overcome the Past

What do I learn when I look through this genealogy that might help me in terms of personal evangelism?

You look through there, you see a variety of individuals that are mentioned. Matthew mentioned some women that that Luke does not mention. One in particular character that's always been interesting to me is in verse 5 that are are are going through this, that you have Rahab the harlot that became part of the genealogy of our of our Lord.

How does that help you in personal evangelism?

Okay, she the courage to obey. Does it tell you that the go that that that people can overcome their past?

You know, here's a woman that we identify her. We always say what? Rahab the harlot. And that identifies her past. And yet she becomes part of the genealogy of our of our Lord. And and so the gospel has the power to change even individuals like Rahab. And I've known many stories that are like that through through the years.

And so even in a story like Matthew chapter 1, which is simply the genealogy of our Lord and then the announcement to Joseph, there's something in those chapters that when we look at it through the lens of personal evangelism can sort of help to motivate motivate us.

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Moses was hesitant when it came to doing the work of God. Read Exodus chapters 2–4 and then answer the following questions.

What did God tell Moses He was going to do in Exodus 3:7–10?

He said, "I'm going to deliver the people out of bondage, but your job is to what? Y'all read it. It's what? Go to Pharaoh and and to get him to let my people Let my people go. Was that an easy task? No, it wasn't going to be an easy task.

In Exodus 3:11, Moses doesn’t appear to be happy about this news from God. What reason does Moses give to God?

In fact, he said, "Who am I? Who am I to go about doing the work?" In fact, I've got the the chart here. We'll just go through that I put together because it says here right all the excuses and how God responded to them.

What other objections do you see Moses giving to God throughout the rest of chapter 3 and chapter 4? Write them below. Additionally, write out how God responded.

Look at chart

As you look at these objections Moses raised, do you think he was trying to make excuses, or do you think he was just trying to be humble in nature?

Why can it not be both? I don't know that it's an either or situation. I do think there's a humility with Moses. I mean, Moses was the most humble or meek man. Numbers chapter 12 tells us. At the same time, I think Moses was trying to get out of doing the work that God assigned for him to do. And so, I'm not sure it's an either or, but perhaps uh of both uh both of those.

What other thoughts stood out to you from the interaction Moses had with God?

Can you relate to Moses at all?

Of all the things that Moses said to God when it came to leading the Israelites, which one can you best relate to that may sometimes hold you back from being more involved in God’s work of reaching the lost?

When I read the story of Moses, I am encouraged to see how God encouraged him. Moses needed encouragement leading God’s people out of bondage. The apostle Paul needed encouragement when it came to preaching the gospel and leading people out of spiritual bondage.

Read Acts 18:9–10. What did Jesus say to Paul? Why did Jesus have to say what He said?

Read Acts 23:11. What did Jesus say to Paul? Why did Jesus have to say what He said?

If Paul needed encouragement, certainly we will too. If Moses needed encouragement, certainly we will too. As we think about God’s great work, always remember: God is with us. There are souls at stake. The devil wants us to make excuses. He loves it when we do. Let’s not make him happy.

Go back and read John 4:34–38. Let’s remember that there are souls who need salvation (our why). We have work to do. There are no excuses.