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Exodus 3:1-4:17
Introduction
We see in the first verse that Moses was out in the pastures, minding his own business when he sees the burning bush.
Moses who had once been a prince of Egypt was now just a sheep herder, a sheep herder who was not even tending his own flock, he was attending the flock of his father-in-law.
Although Moses was once a major figure, part of the royal family in Egypt, he was now just a shepherd and had been for some forty years.
Now God appears to Moses from out of the burning bush and gives him an assignment.
God says that He has seen the suffering of His people at the hand of the Egyptian taskmasters and now is appointing Moses to lead His people out of Egypt to the land of milk and honey.
Then Moses starts a long list of excuses as to why he doesn’t want this job and as we look at the excuses Moses gives; we will find that they have a familiar ring to them.
If we look closely at the excuses Moses gives, we may find that we have used these same excuses when God has called upon us to do something in His service.
At least they are familiar to me.
First off Moses says:
Who Am I?
Who am I Lord?
Although Moses was once a member of the ruling house of Egypt, he is now just a lowly shepherd.
A lowly shepherd some eighty years old.
In all fairness, I think most of us in Moses’ position would probably say something similar.
Lord, are you sure that I am the right man for this job, maybe 30 years ago, but now?
God’s response to Moses was quick and should have been sufficient:
God gives Moses the reassurance that He will be with him.
In Romans, chapter 8, Paul writes:
Have you ever used a similar excuse when you were asked to do something for God?
I know I have.
I had a pastor in Montana who I became very close to.
I had been a lukewarm Christian for a number of years, but under his care and direction I felt myself growing spiritually.
But when he asked me to teach the adult Sunday School class, I was not sure that I was the right person for that job.
I didn’t feel like I was sufficient to the task.
I did not agree to it right away, but in due course I did agree to teach that class and it revived a call to ministry that I had evaded for several years.
Sure, in a manner of speaking I felt insufficient to the task, but I think that maybe that is a good thing.
What I mean to say is that we should always be dependent on God to supply our sufficiency.
The person who feels that he can do the job without any help from God is probably not the person you want for that position.
In Acts, chapter 4, Peter and John had been arrested for preaching Jesus and had to make an appearance before the high council.
When the high council heard Peter and John, they were amazed:
The council realized that the words spoken by Peter and John were not words that Peter and John came by naturally, they were disciples of Jesus.
None of us, on our own, is competent or sufficient to serve the Lord, but to paraphrase Paul, we can do all things through He who strengthens us.
So the Lord addresses Moses’ first excuse, then Moses pleads his second excuse.
He says:
What Shall I Say?
Moses considers how he is going to approach the Hebrews in Egypt, what shall I tell them, what if they don’t want to go.
They had been in Egypt now for 400 years.
Then we see God’s reply:
Some might offer a similar excuse today.
What shall I say, my knowledge is inadequate?
The answer is really quite simple:
The Gospel message is really summed up in verses 3 and 4. Christ died for our sins, He was buried and on the third day He rose again.
The message is as simple as that.
Moses then reached back into his bad of excuses:
Suppose They Will Not Believe Me?
Now that Moses knows what to say, he is afraid that they will not believe him.
If the people don’t believe him, then he is a failure.
Many people use the same excuse to keep from giving out the Gospel.
The fear of failure, the fear of not being believed, the fear of being thought to be different, of not fitting in.
God answered Moses by providing him several convincing proofs:
God has also given us the evidences necessary to convince the honest and sincere person and that is the Word of God:
How many more excuses do you think Moses can come up with?
Let’s look at number 4:
I Am Slow of Speech and of Tongue
This is an interesting excuse that Moses uses.
Do you suppose the Lord was unaware of Moses’ speech skills?
The Lord who knows all things already knows our shortcomings, but the Lord can make up for those shortcomings.
Now here is an excuse that a lot of people can identify with.
In fact, it has a name, Glossophobia, the fear of public speaking.
If you have this phobia, you are not alone.
It is estimated that 75% of people have this anxiety.
When I was attending the university one of the required courses was speech.
I did not realize it at the time, but speech class was the most dreaded class on the curriculum.
As a matter of fact, the majority of the people in the class were taking speech as the last class in order to finish their degrees.
There were only three of us who didn't fit that category.
Not being a proficient speaker did not keep Paul from reaching out to others:
Paul realized he was not a naturally gifted speaker, but Paul knew his message came from the Spirit.
Finally, Moses uses his fifth excuse:
Please Sent Someone Else
At this point we get the sense that Moses just did not want to go.
How so like that are we today.
Moses had been living a quiet life for the last 40 years, he really did feel up to the challenge that the Lord is proposing to him.
Moses’ unwilling spirit finally wears on the Lord:
We can resist the Lord to the point where the Lord will have some choice words for us.
It is easy for us to make excuses, sometimes many excuses, but with faith, the Lord provides us with the necessary skills to accomplish what He asks us to do.
Conclusion
In the case of Moses, we know the rest of the story.
He took the assignment.
He went to Egypt.
He dealt with Pharaoh, and with the help of God, he delivered the Israelites out of bondage.
But what about us?
What will be the rest of our story?
Will we heed the call to preach the gospel to the lost?
Or will we make excuses and someday suffer the wrath of God?
Only time will tell, but I pray that we will not make excuses when the Lord asks us to do something for Him.
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