SERVE WITHOUT EXCUSE

Introduction

-(Exodus 4)

-There’s a story about two nomads in the desert. One nomad asked the other nomad to lend him his rope. The latter replied, “I can’t. I need it to tie my camel.” The first nomad reminded his companion that he didn’t even own a camel. To which the companion replied, “I know that. But when you don’t want to lend your rope, one excuse is as good as any other.”

-We love to come up with all sorts of excuses to get out of things, and this includes serving God. God has given us gifts to use for His kingdom work through the local church, but often we just plain don’t want to, so we will come up with all sorts of excuses why we can’t. Oh, I’m just too busy. Oh, I don’t think I’m capable. And on and on it goes.

-If everyone was like that, absolutely nothing would get done for God’s kingdom. Thankfully, not all are like that.

-Today is a special service in which we have the privilege of ordaining two men into the deacon ministry (Jeff Flowers and Connor Stokes). These two men heeded the call to step into this office of the church to extend the service they have already been doing for God through this local body of believers, as well as lead by example in the area of service.

-Now, one does not need to hold one of the two church offices within the church in order to serve (the other office being that of pastor). You can serve God through the local church as you have been gifted for the advancement of the kingdom. And I want all of you to do so. And today I want to tear down any excuse you might have.

-Because in Scripture, we find a guy who was called by God to do something big, but tried every excuse in the book to get out of it. It might shock you to see how this biblical hero tried to weasel his way out of following God’s call. Moses tried to get out of serving God with a host of excuses, but God shot down every excuse he gave.

-I want us to see that we have no legitimate excuse that prevents us from serving God where He has placed us. And hopefully this will lead us to stop making excuses about why we are not actively serving God, and we just get out there and do it, like Moses ended up doing, and like Jeff and Connor who have led by example.

Exodus 4:10–17 ESV

10 But Moses said to the Lord, “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.” 11 Then the Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? 12 Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.” 13 But he said, “Oh, my Lord, please send someone else.” 14 Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses and he said, “Is there not Aaron, your brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak well. Behold, he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. 15 You shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth, and I will be with your mouth and with his mouth and will teach you both what to do. 16 He shall speak for you to the people, and he shall be your mouth, and you shall be as God to him. 17 And take in your hand this staff, with which you shall do the signs.”

-I want to quickly talk about ways God undermined Moses’ excuses, and how He undermines our excuses. Why do we not have an excuse that prevents us from serving God in some capacity?

1) God empowers

-Up to this point, Moses had already been offering several excuses. No one will listen to me. No one will believe me. And now he tries to explain that he isn’t a very good speaker. He literally says that he isn’t a man of words and that he has a heavy mouth and a heavy tongue.

-But listen to how God answers in v. 11

Exodus 4:11 (ESV)

11 Then the Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?

-God answers by saying that He is completely sovereign over everything, including the functions of the human body. God has control of eyes and ears and mouth. Specifically, God is in control of Moses’ mouth. Maybe in and of himself Moses has problems with public speaking. But God has the power to overcome any impediments and give strength for whatever Moses thinks that he is lacking. This is emphasized in v. 12 where God says that He would be with Moses’ mouth and would teach him what to say. GOD WOULD EMPOWER MOSES TO DO WHAT GOD CALLS HIM TO DO.

-I have heard Christians give many excuses for a lot of things. I can’t share the gospel because I don’t know what to say. I can’t read the Bible because I don’t understand it. I can’t serve God through the local church because I am not skilled enough or smart enough or whatever enough.

-And here is God’s answer to you. Who has sovereign control over you and your body and your abilities and your knowledge and everything else? God does. If God has that sovereign control, is He not more than capable to empower you to serve Him as He has gifted you (along with all those other things). For example, does not Jesus Himself tell His disciples not to worry about what to say because the Holy Spirit will give them the words? Or, I think about later in Exodus when God gives instructions on building the tabernacle, God says He will empower certain men to fulfill the task.

-In ourselves, we might not have the strength or capability, but God can give strength and power to overcome those deficiencies. Closely related to that:

2) God equips

-In v. 13 Moses pretty much just outright says, I DON’T WANT TO DO IT, SEND SOMEONE ELSE. He’s run out of excuses and maybe some truth comes out—I just don’t want to. God will not listen to even that excuse.

-And this is God’s response: I am going to give you Aaron your brother to be your mouthpiece. And then in v. 17 it sounds strange that God says He will give Moses the rod he’d been using, but it was through that rod that God was going to do some signs and wonders and miracles. There was the sign of the rod being turned into a snake, and Moses would strike water with the rod and turn it to blood, and things like that.

-But what God is telling Moses is that He was going to equip Moses with all the tools he needed to get the job done. Moses didn’t feel equipped, and that’s OK. Moses didn’t need to have the equipment—God was going to give Him the equipment.

-We don’t want to do things for God because we don’t think we have the tools. We might be like Moses and say I don’t have the mouth to do it. Or we might say I don’t have the brains to do it. Or we might say I don’t have the skill to do it. You know what, we probably don’t. But God will give us the tools so that we do have the mouth or the brains or the skill. And God gives that to us weak vessels so that He gets the honor and glory for it. If we used our own tools, our own natural inclinations, everybody would chalk it up to us doing our own thing. But when we do something against our own grain because God gave us what we needed, then He gets the glory.

-As the cliche goes, God doesn’t call the equipped, He equips the called. Left to my own devices and left to my own personal bent in personality and whatnot, I would not be a pastor. I hated public speaking. My natural bent would be to sit behind a desk. But God called and God equipped, and so I serve.

3) God’s example

-I look to Jesus Christ as our example of service, the one who did not come to be served but to serve and give His life as a ransom for many. Jesus could have given a million excuses not to go to the cross, and yet He went. He sacrificed Himself to save a rebellious humanity. He was God in heaven, He did not need to become human to die. And yet He did. If God the Son would so do that, what excuse do we have? If Christ so served us, may we so serve Him.

DEACON ORDINATION

-And today, we have the honor of ordaining two men who want to serve Christ by serving this church in the particular role of the office of deacon. Connor Stokes and Jeff Flowers were already serving, and now they serve even more in this capacity. We as a church recognize their hearts and calling, and now to solidify that, we have a time of prayer over them. As we ordained staff and deacons pray over these men, would you as a congregation pray as well, that God would use them to advance His kingdom work through them in their service to the church...