Excuses
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And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt? And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain. And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.
And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The Lord hath not appeared unto thee. And the Lord said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod. And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it. And the Lord said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand: That they may believe that the Lord God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee. And the Lord said furthermore unto him, Put now thine hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom: and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow. And he said, Put thine hand into thy bosom again. And he put his hand into his bosom again; and plucked it out of his bosom, and, behold, it was turned again as his other flesh. And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign. And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe also these two signs, neither hearken unto thy voice, that thou shalt take of the water of the river, and pour it upon the dry land: and the water which thou takest out of the river shall become blood upon the dry land. And Moses said unto the Lord, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue. And the Lord said unto him, Who hath made man’s mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the Lord? Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say. And he said, O my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses, and he said, Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know that he can speak well. And also, behold, he cometh forth to meet thee: and when he seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart. And thou shalt speak unto him, and put words in his mouth: and I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what ye shall do. And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people: and he shall be, even he shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of God. And thou shalt take this rod in thine hand, wherewith thou shalt do signs.
1. The excuse of “I’m not ready” (3:11)
1. The excuse of “I’m not ready” (3:11)
— ** Story of proposing to abbie and then it hitting me months later just a couple weeks before the wedding,
freaking out a little bit thinking not ready.
Moses made his own excuses, he could’ve said he was busy
a) He was busy
— He had a job as a Shepherd, full time all the time
— He had a family to take care of
b) He was sinful
And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their burdens: and he spied an Egyptian smiting an Hebrew, one of his brethren. And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he slew the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand. And when he went out the second day, behold, two men of the Hebrews strove together: and he said to him that did the wrong, Wherefore smitest thou thy fellow? And he said, Who made thee a prince and a judge over us? intendest thou to kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian? And Moses feared, and said, Surely this thing is known. Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to slay Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian: and he sat down by a well.
—
c) He was somewhat willing
And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.
He was willing to talk to God, but didn’t want to hear what He had to say.
Partial willingness is full disobedience.
2. The excuse of “I’m not a leader” (4:1)
2. The excuse of “I’m not a leader” (4:1)
—** This was one of my biggest concerns when God called me to the ministry.
I’ve always had the personality of a follower, I’ve never been the Type A kind of person whos a strong leader.
__** story of almost going into the marines arguing with dad about being an officer instead of a normal recruit
But, being a follower can be a good thing, if you follow the right person. The best leaders are followers. The best Christian leaders are those who follow Christ CLOSELY, and they lead by example.
Moses made the excuse that he wasnt a leader there in verse 1
a) No one will listen to me
— my own people
— my enemies
b)
c) But, God will be with you
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
God is with you to help you accomplish His will
And God gifts you to accomplish His will
— gives different gifts
Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led. Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.
For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling? But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him. And if they were all one member, where were the body? But now are they many members, yet but one body. And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary: And those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness. For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked: That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another. And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it. Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.
And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues. Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles? Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret? But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way.
The Holy Spirit gives different gifts to different people
Its interesting to note that in the next chapter, Paul says that people will stop speaking in tongues
For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.
For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
Figure out what your spiritual gift is and use it to glorify God.
Figure out which spiritual gifts you are weak in and develop them.
Moses was not a good speaker, but he became a good speaker in order to serve the Lord
3. The excuse of “I’m not qualified” (4:10)
3. The excuse of “I’m not qualified” (4:10)
—** illustration of Joey always lying on his resume on Friends.
This was my concern when looking for a job cause I had no experience.
One of the first things I asked when we visited in November is Why us? We have no experience, we’re not really qualified.
You hire character, not ability. Because ability can be taught but character cannot.
Those who have good character are those who follow closely to Christ. A close follower of God is the best qualification you will ever have.
Moses doubts himself and questions his ability and God responds.
a) Who is God?
The same God, who created everything… salvation… so on… is He not able to help you do whatever it is you need to do?
b) Who are you?
who are you to say what God can and can’t do. Who are you to say who God can and can’t use? If He wants to use you, which He does, you need to be willing to let Him.
When I say that there is no way I can possibly do something, I am not being humble, I am limiting God. It’s like I am putting God in a box, putting myself outside of the box, and telling God you cannot do anything outside of this box.
Just because you don’t think you’re able, doesn’t mean God wont make you able. He loves to use our weakness to showcase His strength.
And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.
b) God teaches us
Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.
He will teach us and grow us into the leader that he needs us to be
c)
Conclusion
Excuses are not doubting myself, they are doubting my God.
The only way to fulfill God’s calling on my life is to have faith that Christ can fulfill it through me.
Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
Questions to Consider:
Am I too busy to focus on what God has called me to do?
Do I believe I’m too broken or too sinful to be used by God?
Am I 100% surrendered to what God wants for my life, or only partially willing?
Am I 100% sure I am pursuing what God wants for my life, or what I want?
Do I believe that God is with me, and for me, and will grow me into who He needs me to be?
