No More Excuses

No more excuses

Exodus chapter 4

Good morning everyone, glad to see you this morning.

If you would turn to Exodus chapter 4, we will continue looking at the life of Moses and the call that God put on his life. I have titled the message excuses, excuses… how many excuses have you given the Lord as He was wanting to move you into a new area of your life or a new responsibility?

How many times have you told the Lord to wait?

Remember from last week- Moses is called to lead the nation of Israel out of bondage and away from the Egyptians and Moses is the man that God wanted to use.

Exodus 4:1-13 Read slowly from Bible

Just like most of us, as soon as the Lord asked Moses, He said sure Lord anything you want me to do I will do immediately and without hesitation!

excuses, excuses-

After Moses has the burning bush experience and saw God first hand speak into his life, he again is approaching God with what if they do not believe me or say that the Lord did not appear to you. He adds to the old list…

All of a sudden excuses come flying out of the mouth of Moses

Who I am to do that?

What will I tell them?

What if they do not listen to me?

How will I do it?

Illustration-

In his book, Something Else to Smile About, Zig Ziglar writes about his brother, the late Judge Ziglar, who loved to tell the story of a man who went next door to borrow his neighbor’s lawnmower. The neighbor explained that he could not let him use the mower because all the flights had been canceled from New York to Los Angeles. The borrower asked him, “What do canceled flights from New York to Los Angeles have to do with borrowing your lawnmower.”

“It doesn't have anything to do with it,” the neighbor replied, but if I don't want to let you use my lawnmower, one excuse is as good as another” (Zig Ziglar, Something Else to Smile About, Thomas Nelson. 1999

Excuses are a dime a dozen- they have very little value and very little benefit to anyone that wants to get something done- One time I asked my son if he had cleaned up his room and he gave me excuses of why it was not done. He assured me that he would get right on it and that I could check it out in a little while and I would be happy with the results. I watched him play his video game and take a phone call and go outside and visit with a friend. A little while later, he was back in the house and I asked if his room was cleaned. He said yes…so I walked in the room and saw things were on the floor and looked like nothing was done. I went into the kitchen and I grabbed a garbage bag. I began picking up things off the floor and putting it in the bag. He asked what I was doing, I said that since he was done that everything that was on the floor must be garbage and I was getting rid of it for him. He had a fit and said that he would take another look at the room. I said, one more time, you can clean or I can clean it, the choice was his.

Excuses: they’re not real reasons; they’re just ways of avoiding what we really don’t want to do. (Repeat)

Vance Havner once put it: “An excuse is the skin of a reason stuffed with a lie.” In other words, it looks like a reason on the outside, but at heart it’s really a lie.

That’s why what Benjamin Franklin said is very true: “He that is good at making excuses is seldom good for anything else.”

So stop making excuses! If you want to be all that God has called you to be, stop coming up with so-called “reasons” why you can’t do what God has asked you to do.

Stop telling Him, “It’s too hard” or “What if…” or “I’m not qualified.” If you want to be used of God to advance His eternal purposes on this planet, then stop trying to justify your inactivity. (Phillip Green Sermon Central)

An observation before the first point is- Don’t make excuses!

Last week- we are 100 % unqualified to do what God has called each of us to do- we need Him to help us. We need to be obedient and respond as needed.

What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, the Lord did not appear to you?

(v2) “What is in your hand?”

What is in your hand